John Thain Resigns From Bank of America

John Thain is out at Bank of America. Last night I pointed to a story about Merrill Lynch accelerating bonuses (link here). I figured that alone might irritate Bank of America’s CEO Ken Lewis. Turns out that it might have been the straw that broke the camel’s back. From the New York Times:The relationship between the two men soured over the past month as Mr. Lewis grew increasingly frustrated that Mr. Thain did not have a good grasp of the firm’s operations, according to an individual who is aware of the tensions between the two men but who does not have authorization to speak.The final straw for Mr. Lewis may have been the decision by Mr. Thain to make an earlier-than-usual bonus payout to Merrill employees, just three days before the merger closed on Jan. 1.John Thain has been demonstrating incredibly bad judgment of late. Ken Lewis is not known for tolerating this kind of stuff. If Thain had not resigned, I suspect he would have been shown the door regardless.