Deep into a pulverizing credit cycle with no clear turning point, newly minted chief executives at banking and thrift companies are increasingly garnering more attention for past experience selling companies—experience that many expect them to have to draw upon soon.Against a backdrop of mounting investor discontent, analysts said, swift action to salvage shareholder value is the task at hand.
ally forced out of his job. After failing to stem continuing losses from home mortgages the bank's board had to act. According to a story by Dan Fitzgerald and Peter Lattman of the Wall Street Journal,For months, Mr. Killinger had fought off a growing chorus of calls for his removal. Even after Citigroup Inc., Merrill Lynch & Co. and Wachovia Corp. pushed out their chiefs over mortgage-related write-downs, and Mr. Killinger disclosed losses at WaMu of as much as $19 billion, the company's board, dominated by associates and longtime allies, continued to back him. The board recently got new blood in key posts and concluded WaMu needed an outsider to signal a fresh start, according to people familiar with the matter. Board leaders conducted a discreet search for Mr. Killinger's replacement and told the CEO Thursday that they wanted him to retire, these people said.The bank selected Alan Fishman as Killinger's replacement. Prior to the appointmen
t Fishmanentered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) concerning aspects of the bank's operations, principally in several areas of its risk management and compliance functions, including its Bank Secrecy Act compliance program. In addition, WaMu has committed to provide the OTS an updated, multi-year business plan and forecast for its earnings, asset quality, capital and business segment performance. The business plan will not require the company to raise capital, increase liquidity or make changes to the products and services it provides to customers.Fishman has a difficult job ahead of him. Keep a close eye on his appointments and his plans. Will he move for a takeover or what?
... fire Chief Executive Officer Kerry Killinger and replace its board after an 85 percent stock-price plunge in the past year...
shington D.C. (today's hearings on C-Span) according to story in Reuters Washington Mutual's WM (NYSE) Board of Directors earlier this week defied the growing resentment over executive pay and,approved a plan which helps protect its management's bonus targets from the impact of the subprime loan fallout, according to a filing with U.S. regulators.
... The filing, made with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday, refers to targets for WaMu chief executive Kerry Killinger, chief financial officer Thomas Casey, chief operating officer Stephen Rotella, and retail banking chief James Corcoran.The board's committee said in light of the challenging business environment and the need to evaluate performance across a wide range of factors it will take a three-step approach to rewarding its executives including subjectively evaluating company performance in credit risk management.
Boards need to at least face reality in today's market and try make sound judgments. It does not appear that WaMu's board succeeded in this circumstance. Will their filing stand? Stay tuned.
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