John Thain

The financial crisis was produced by a complex set of circumstances, including a massive housing bubble, poor regulation and irresponsible lending on an epic scale. A handful of bankers became the public faces of the crisis, and now, two years later, we take a look at what became of them.

This week marks the second anniversary of an event that shook the financial industry to its core. In her newly released book, The Weekend that Changed Wall Street, CNBC anchor Maria Bartiromo gives an insider's look at the fateful days surrounding the fall of Lehman Brothers.

The SEC settled its case against Bank of America for failing to disclose Merrill Lynch's losses and bonus plans before their merger, but BofA shareholders are still seeking justice. On Friday, a judge refused to dismiss their claims, meaning they'll get their chance at a trial.

CIT Group (CIT) reported that net earnings for the second quarter jumped to $142.1 million, or 71 cents per diluted share, from $97.3 million, or 49 cents per diluted share, in the previous quarter. Net income rose thanks to gains on sales of assets and recoveries of pre-FSA (fresh start...

As news of more AIG bonuses comes out and America's politicians and public servants prepare to tee off for yet another round of "bash the über-rich," Wall Street's well compensated executives are beginning to strike back. This is hardly surprising; after all, the boys in finance are bred for...

In its annual analysis of CEO pay, released today, the Associated Press discovered that two CEOs, Chesapeake Energy (CHK)'s Aubrey McClendon and Motorola (MOT)'s Sanjay Jha, received over $100 million in 2008. In spite of these record paydays, however, median CEO income dropped 7 percent from the...

Bank of America (BAC) has gotten into trouble for everything -- from succumbing to government pressure to close its deal with Merrill Lynch to the size of Merrill bonuses to the sale of the CEO's Porsche to the CFO. And now it gets one more straw on the camel's back. John Thain, former CEO of...

When I read that Bank of America (BAC) Chief Executive Kenneth Lewis told the Financial Times that he made a "tactical error" in accepting money from the government's bank bailout fund to complete its takeover of Merrill Lynch, I immediately thought of my two-year-old son, Jacob. He often says...

President Barack Obama called it "shameful." Senator Christopher Dodd says he knows what we're all thinking: "this infuriates the American people, and rightly so." He follows that statement up with a demand (well, sorta): he'll use "every possible legal means" to get the Wall Street bonuses back;...

In Gone with the Wind, Rhett Butler wryly notes that there is "just as much money to be made out of the wreckage of a civilization as from the upbuilding of one." Having observed the near-Roman excesses of New York's money men over the past couple of years, I might go even further and argue that...