Ken Lewis Returns $1 Million

Worst. Payday. Ever. Ken Lewis, the outgoing CEO at Bank of America, will receive none of his salary for 2009, and has even agreed to return $1 million of his past earnings. Still, no one’s likely to shed any tears for Lewis over the deal—his retirement awards are reported to be worth between $69 million and $200 million. The ruling came from Kenneth Feinberg, the U.S. Treasury’s pay czar appointed to deal with large companies after the stimulus. It has been widely speculated that Feinberg would cut back on CEO compensation, but never that he would revoke an entire year’s pay, and the move will likely be seen as a bellwether for the Treasury’s approach to companies that received significant government aid from the recent stimulus package. Lewis has reportedly agreed to the deal: “He felt it was not in the best interest of Bank of America for him to get involved in a dispute with the paymaster," said a spokesman.