BofA Doesn't Explode; CEO Ken Lewis Named Banker of the Year

Marketwatch reports, "American Banker to Honor Kenneth D. Lewis With 2008 Banker of the Year Award."

In the past two years, Lewis seized strategic opportunities created when financial services rivals stumbled, and in the process expanded his company's reach in two key financial services businesses. He turned the company into a mortgage powerhouse with the acquisition of Countrywide Financial Corp. and followed with a deal for Merrill Lynch that establishes B of A as a leader in wealth management.

Notes Clusterstock:

Apparently you can still be named “Banker of the Year” by American Banker even if the share price of the bank you run is down 50% for the year. That might not be entirely fair. Watching half your market capitalization vanish is better than having your whole company vanish. Lewis is certainly no Jimmy Cayne, Dick Fuld or John Thain. (Although, in fairness to those guys, they didn't have the giant depositor base, years of access to the discount window and FDIC protections that Ken enjoyed).

Three cheers for Ken! He kept Bank of America alive! It only took $25 billion of new capital from taxpayers and God knows what other favors Chris Dodd worked into the bailout legislation for you.