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BofA CEO called out

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- A father-son team want Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis out, and they are ready for a sort of proxy fight to get it.

Jerry and Jon Finger, partners of Finger Interests, Ltd., have filed paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission encouraging fellow shareholders to vote against CEO and Chairman Ken Lewis, lead director Temple Sloan, and Jacqueline Ward, who chaired the committee charged with assessing the risk of acquisitions. They’ve also asked that the positions of CEO and Chairman be separated, and they are encouraging shareholders to vote for a (non-binding) vote on executive compensation.

Finger Interests, Ltd. owns 1.1 million shares.  Jerry Finger said the family owns several hundred thousand more. As B of A’s stock has fallen, they’ve seen millions in wealth evaporate.

“All we want to happen is to restructure the board so that the board will fulfill their primary responsibility which really is to the shareholder,” Jerry Finger said.

“We feel like this current board and management team are focused more on the size and the footprint as opposed to protecting and building shareholder value,” Jon Finger explained.

Their website, www.bacproxyvote.com , launched this week with in-depth explanations of their positions. They claim Lewis, and the rest of the board, knew about Merrill Lynch’s losses and the controversial bonuses, and didn’t share that information with the shareholders. They call the acquisition of Merrill Lynch a rushed mistake.

A Bank of America spokesperson didn’t respond to Newschannel 36’s request for a statement on the campaign.  We do know that Lewis, Sloan, and another executive traveled to Houston—on three separate trips—to discuss the Fingers’ concerns face-to-face.

“We wanted some acknowledgement from the board that they were going to focus on shareholder value,” Jon Finger said. “I will concede that it’s a long shot, but I think we are developing some momentum,” he added.  The Fingers say they are in contact with several other major shareholders. They plan to launch a campaign ahead of the April 29^th vote which could include ad buys. They have also filed a class action lawsuit.