Crazy Day at Wacky Bank

Originally Published In the News June 2, 2008 12:25 PM
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The succession planning at Wachovia Bank (WB-NYSE) in 2008 contrasts sharply with First Union’s handling of Ken Thompson’s ascension to the CEO in the late 1990’s.

The bank introduced Ken to Wall Street at their annual Nantucket Investment Conference in 1998, which normally is a showcase for the 100-odd companies that present, along with a marketing opportunity for the bank’s equity research effort.

Thompson’s reign was admirable for his length of service, but he is leaving behind a stock that cannot find a bottom:

Wachovia Corp. ousted Kennedy Thompson as chief executive officer of the fourth-largest U.S. bank after the board blamed him for losses that cost the lender more than half its market value in the past year. The stock fell as much as 4.5 percent.

``This company was run under Ken Thompson without very good controls,’’ Gerard Cassidy, an RBC Capital Markets analyst, said in a Bloomberg TV interview. Chances are even that Wachovia will seek a new CEO from outside the bank because there isn’t a clearly designated successor, Cassidy said. Bloomberg

Add Ken to the list of casualties of the credit crisis; hopefully the successors running the banks and brokers have learned from their predecessor’s mistakes.

Wachovia Ousts Thompson on Writedowns, Share Plunge
Bloomberg

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