Bank to pay Lewis tens of millions in retirement

By Beth Healy, Globe Staff

While Kenneth D. Lewis did not receive a salary in his final year as the embattled chief executive of Bank of America Corp., he retired from the company with plenty of money: his pension plans, for example, are worth $57 million and he is also due more than $11 million in other retirement and deferred compensation.

Bank of America released new estimates of the value of Lewis's retirement packages as well as other compensation in its annual proxy statement released today. The now-retired Lewis also has $4.6 million in stock holdings, some of which have not yet vested. Lewis also has $10.3 million in life insurance benefits for him and his wife.

Brian T. Moynihan, the Wellesley attorney who succeeded Lewis as chief executive on Jan. 1, received total compensation of $6.5 million for 2009, including $5.2 million in stock. Gregory L. Curl, the bank's global risk chief who lost out on the top job to Moynihan, received $10.7 million in total pay in 2009, $9.3 million of that in stock. The proxy said Curl would retire at the end of this month.

The proxy included a number of shareholder proposals, including one to adopt "say on pay," a policy many companies are employing that gives shareholders a yearly voice in approving executive compensation plans. Bank of America's board recommended investors vote against the proposal, saying the company's management has put a similar "say on pay" question before shareholders that offers more detailed information on how it compensates top executives.