Bank of America Corporation introduces the results of management and shareholder proposals at the company’s 2009 annual meeting.
All 18 directors were elected to the board by comfortable margins. In addition, management proposals regarding executive compensation and the retention of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLC as the company’s independent accounting firm were approved.
Seven shareholder proposals were not approved. An eighth shareholder proposal to change the company’s by-laws to require an independent chairman was narrowly approved. At a meeting of the Board of Directors, after a recommendation from the Governance Committee, Dr. Walter E. Massey was elected chairman. Kenneth D. Lewis will be president and chief executive officer. The board unanimously expressed its support for Lewis to continue in that role.
Massey is president emeritus at Morehouse College in Atlanta. He served as president of Morehouse from August 1995 to June 2007. He has been a director of the board since 1998 and is a member of the board’s Audit Committee. He was a director of BankAmerica Corporation from 1993 to 1998 and currently also serves as a director of McDonald’s Corporation. Massey formerly was also a director of Delta Airlines, Motorola, BP PLC.
“We are building this company and managing for the long term,” says Dr. Walter E. Massey to shareholders. “I continue to believe we have built the best financial company in the industry, and that our results over the long term will bear that out.
“Let me acknowledge that 2008 was a very difficult year for the economy, for the financial services industry and for our company in particular, Our company’s shareholders have carried a heavy burden recently. We are doing everything within our power every day to fight through today’s adversity and drive toward tomorrow’s promise.
“Merrill will help the company move toward its goal of developing stronger, deeper and more profitable customer relationships over the long term through its leading positions in capital markets and wealth management,” continues Lewis. “Countrywide helped Bank of America gain a high-quality franchise and customer base along with significant market share in mortgages – a cornerstone financial product.”According to Bank of America Chief Financial Officer Joe Price the company has the potential to produce approximately USD30 billion in annual net income under more normal economic conditions.
“Our broad customer and client reach and geographic diversity form a powerful engine for revenue generation and earnings,” says Price. “Our business diversity is equally important, providing balance as some businesses perform well while others are confronted with challenges. As demonstrated by our history of revenue and earnings, and despite today’s challenges, the model we have built is working, and we expect it to be even more powerful in the future.”
L.D.