Comments on: Merrill/Bank America Departures

By: merrillsover

merrillsover — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 10:43:40 +0000

the reason why BoA has 0% chance to avoid nationalisation is complexity…..you cant leave a multiple trn balance sheet in the hands of a carolina-based management team….have a clue how much ken spent in the last 3 years in MBNA/Countrywide/LaSalle & Merrill? do you really think earnings will now start feeding through the bottom line? have a clue what rising credit costs will mean for BoA P&L? …..well, maybe you still believe in ken’s synergies s**t ? BoA faces a massive complexity issue (ken calls it scale), a structural lack of talent in most divisions (who’s running the IBK now? you ken? will your 50$bn broker be there in 6 months?) and disgraced exposure towards the US consumer…..think this is really the winning strategy? ….thanks a lot to john thain: GS will thrive without competitors in the next years (thinking of a TARP exit while everybody’s dying….ha ha….maybe utilising AIG’s money to reimburse the Treasury?….ha ha….)

gooood luck charlotte…..the day of the unraveling is just around the corner……

By: Brad M

Brad M — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 08:49:13 +0000

After one year, only 13 of the highest 50 execs from Bear Sterns remains with Morgan. Don’t see why this one should be any different, especially with Congress threatening higher taxes on bonus pay. I noticed neither left to join a TARP recipient….

By: piniella

piniella — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 06:45:52 +0000

3 large PE firms that I am close with will never invest a penny in it

Then they aren’t very good because the terms heavily favor buyers.

By: usphoenix

usphoenix — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 01:29:43 +0000

In the late 80s the wind shifted and smart people figured out they had to accumulate as much as they possibly could and stay as high above the power curve as they could. And that was the great divide.

So yeah. CEOs don’t typically sack their buds on executive row for fear of being sacked.

But everyone else is fair game.

By: CaptiousNut

CaptiousNut — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 00:12:23 +0000

howard0339 ,

BoA is *bank tellers without a clue*????

You think Merrill is so savvy?

Bro, Merrill bankrupted themselves despite those vaunted Series 7′s.

For sure Merrill has more brains, but that’s offset with less scruples. And Merrill employees complaining about BoA just shows their bottomless sense of entitlement. Rightfully they should all be out on the street with a bankrupt company headlining their resumes.

By: Bob A

Bob A — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 23:03:29 +0000

I can’t imagine working for anyone from Carolina.. North or South. Impossible. Rather mow lawns

By: Mannwich

Mannwich — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 19:36:01 +0000

@bman: Rosenberg was one of few insiders who got this right. Don’t know about Bernstein though.

By: bman

bman — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 19:29:53 +0000

I can’t believe you think these losers have talent. They exposed themselves, their companies, and their whole country, never mind the rest of the world, to massive risk based on assumptions. Any third grade kid knows what goes up must might very well come down again, and their brilliant genius plan involved a housing market that constantly increased in value.

If these so called geniuses were so smart, why are we in this mess? If you call it level A don’t forget the SS

Just fire them, period.

By: Mannwich

Mannwich — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 19:13:28 +0000

@BR: The thing that’s really galling to me is that it’s mostly the rank and file at these failing firms that are bearing the brunt of this mess. I know that’s sort of been the way of the world since the beginning of time but it’s still galling nevertheless. Most people are now finally realizing that the gains of the past few decades didn’t translate into real wealth for them. Just more debt and maybe a loss one’s job, career, and/or home.

By: merrillsover

merrillsover — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 19:03:03 +0000

…..the smart people are leaving the sinking boat, candace (head of research)……and you’d better do the same…..there’s no future for Merrill’s franchise…..now its too late…..dont fget that a flood of strategic departures has broken key relationships with clients destroying the reputation of merrill’s franchise…..stuart graham, ed najarian, rosie, bernstein….thats what happens when a bread&butter commercial bank falls in love with ibk…..try again, ken…..the next deal will be better