Bank of America – Can Brian Moynihan Survive?
Last week the Wall Street Journal carried an interesting front page story, “Bank of America’s Woes Test ‘Fixer’ CEO.” The gist of the article is that Bank of America’s CEO, Brian Moynihan, is having problems moving the bank forward. While other big banks are now showing nice profits – and dividends for shareholders – America’s second largest bank is still struggling.
If Moynihan can’t turn things around soon, he is probably out of a job.
Seeking Alpha last week also published a story about BoA’s woes. By our quick calculation, the bank has paid out $58 billion in legal fees and fines since the financial crisis started. That sum includes last year’s historic $16,650,000,000.00 settlement of claims brought under the federal False Claims Act and FIRREA statutes. (We are proud to say that we served as a lead relator’s counsel in that case.)
When will it end? Although Moynihan tries to calm shareholders and claims the worst is over, we don’t think so. Since last year’s $16.65 billion case, Bank of America has been hit with more legal woes including last month’s $180 million settlement of a lawsuit accusing the bank of rigging foreign exchange rates (FOREX), $455 million to settle government charges relating to the FOREX scandal and very recently, another $315 million to settle mortgage note claims.
Moynihan is in the press these days, primarily because of the bank’s recent annual shareholder’s meeting. Shareholder’s apparently cut his pay by $1 million but Moynihan still managed to wrangle a $13 million compensation package.
Cutting Moynihan’s salary by a few percent isn’t enough. Until Moynihan or the bank’s board of directors changes the corporate culture, Bank of America’s continuing poor behavior isn’t likely to change. Moynihan blames his predecessor and the bank’s acquisition of Countrywide and Merrill Lynch but he has had plenty of time to clean house. Ditto for the bank’s board of directors which had years and years to make changes.
Some think the bank has simply become too large to govern. We disagree. Those that are governing continue to put profit above people and society. Thankfully because of whistleblowers, the bank’s greed may be coming to an end.
Investors are getting tired of nonstop lawsuits, regulatory actions and scandals. So is the government.
We have helped whistleblowers collect over $100 million for reporting wrongdoing. And it’s no secret that we were heavily involved in last year’s Bank of America case. If you are a current or past employee with knowledge of fraud or misconduct, give us a call. The time has never been better to become a whistleblower.
Under FIRREA – the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act – whistleblowers can earn up to $1.6 million. The more robust False Claims Act allows whistleblowers to receive a percentage of whatever the government collects and without any cap or limitation. Last year’s big Bank of America case resulted in the payment of over $150 million in award monies.
Whether at Bank of America or some other bank, we help whistleblowers collect the maximum awards possible. More importantly, we help whistleblowers put a stop to fraud and greed.
Need more information? Give us a call. For more information contact attorney Brian Mahany at or by telephone at (414) 704-6731 (direct).
MahanyLaw – Proudly Serving Whistleblowers (America’s True Heroes).