An official campaign launched to dismiss Kenneth Lewis from BofA’s chair

Jerry Finger, a longtime shareholder of Bank of America whose stake in the company is about 0.02% of shares outstanding, initiated a campaign against the bank’s Chief Executive Kenneth Lewis, reports Reuters. The shareholder expressed his dissatisfaction with the bank’s actions to acquire Merrill Lynch & Co. which incurred too much risk for the company.

Finger is conducting his formal campaign for at his own expenses without a formal proxy solicitation, and announced it in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission notice. He calls upon shareholders to vote against reelecting Lewis, lead director O. Temple Sloan Jr and Jackie Ward to the bank's board of directors at the April 29 annual meeting. Ward chairs the board's asset quality committee.

Finger is indignant about Bank of America’s overpaying for Merrill while failing to timely disclose the extent of Merrill's losses once they became known. The bank showed a "total disregard" for shareholder interests, he said. Instead of focusing on "increasing size, market share and geographic footprint” the bank should care more for controlling risk, added Finger.