Loose Lips Sink CEOs

Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis is trying to keep the worst kept secret in Washington: Plan N. He's not doing too hot of a job.

Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis tried to assure his senior team that the bank would not be seized by the government, the WSJ says. As nationalization talk gains momentum in Washington, Lewis also reportedly asked the government to say publicly that it is not considering this option.

WSJ: Mr. Lewis addressed the nationalization speculation during a senior leadership meeting Thursday at the bank's headquarters, according to a person there. Policy officials in Washington have assured Mr. Lewis that such an option isn't on the table, the CEO said. He also said he has urged the government to say this publicly.

It's not clear which "policy officials" Lewis was referring to, exactly. Presumably some folks at the Treasury and Fed. Nationalization is now emphatically "on the table" in Washington, with Lindsey Graham, Kay Bailey Hutchinson, and others publicly calling for it.

The other news about Lewis that we can infer from this article is that he's likely losing the support of his senior team. Unless Lewis himself ordered the leak--perhaps in an attempt to get the "nationalization not on the table" idea into the press again--Bank of America's senior team is now going around him to the press (and quickly, too).

This, combined with the crushed stock price, Merrill Lynch deal, and Cuomo subpoena, suggest that Ken Lewis's tenure is not long for this world.

And that's putting it mildly. I'm gonna say that Bank of America is not long for this world, and that includes a number of other banks, including Citigroup.

Some sort of government receivership of these banks will be required very, very soon. The calls for Plan N are growing louder every day. Ken's fighting for his job, understandably. But he's on the losing side of history here, and the tsunami is coming for him and a lot of other bank CEOs here in the next few months...maybe even weeks.

[UPDATE] Add Senate banking committee chair Chris Dodd to the list of folks saying "Plan N is go". Citigroup and BoA stocks taking a complete nosedive at this hour.