Deals & People January 22, 2009

Thain to Leave Bank of America

Former Merrill Lynch&Co. Chief Executive John Thain is on his way out of Bank of America Corp. (BoA), according to reports.
Reported by

The resignation comes a few weeks after the January 1 acquisition of Merrill Lynch by Bank of America. Thain had agreed to the sale of Merrill to Bank of America in the fall (see “Bank of America Buys Merrill Lynch’). He was set to head the wealth management unit of the newly combined company (see “Thain To Head Wealth Management at Bank of America’).

Reports of Thain’s departure emerged after an emergency meeting Thursday between Thain and BoA’s CEO Ken Lewis. The news comes amid increased scrutiny about whether Thain knew of and properly disclosed the full extent of losses at Merrill, TheWall Street Journal reported. BoA has sought extra federal assistance because the Merrill losses were much worse than expected.

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Former Merrill executives Robert McCann, former vice chairman of Merrill’s wealth management division, and Gregory Fleming, former Merrill president and COO, resigned in the week following the acquisition (see “McCann Exits Merrill after Bank of America Takeover’ and “BoA Loses another Ex-Merrill Exec’).

Thain joined Merrill Lynch in December 2007 after the departure of Stan O’Neal (see “O’Neal Leaving Merrill’). Previously, Thain served as CEO and director of NYSE Euronext, Inc. Before joining the NYSE, Thain worked for Goldman Sachs Group Inc. as president and COO, according to his Bank of America bio.

Deals & People January 21, 2009

Wirtshafter Appointed President of New York B/D, Advisory Firms

Tom M. Wirtshafter has been named president of American Portfolios Financial Services (APFS) and American Portfolios Advisors Inc. (APA), a registered investment adviser, according to an announcement.
Reported by

As president of the Holbrook, New York-based APFS, Wirtshafter succeeds Frank A. Tauches, Jr., who will remain with the broker/dealer as executive vice president and chief legal counsel, according to the announcement.

Wirtshafter also succeeds Thomas J. LoManto as president of APA. LoManto will remain with the firm as senior vice president of Advisory Services.

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Prior to being named president, Wirtshafter had been a board member and consultant for APFS since 2004. “Over the years, Tom has had a behind-the-scenes hand in shaping the firm’s growth and his counsel has been invaluable,” said Lon T. Dolber, the firm’s CEO, in the announcement. “Tom is a roll-up-your-sleeves, results-driven manager, which is a perfect fit for us.”

Wirtshafter brings more than 30 years of experience to the firm, having served as COO first with Nathan & Lewis Securities, Inc., before its acquisition by MetLife, then with AXA Advisors.

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