Capital One Financial Corp. said Monday that John A. Kanas, the former chairman and chief executive of North Fork Bancorp. who orchestrated his company’s sale last year, will step down as president of Capital One’s banking business and resign from its board Aug. 6.
Mr. Kanas will be succeeded by Lynn Pike, a former Bank of America Corp. executive who joined Capital One in mid-April. Mr. Kanas, who agreed to stay with the $148.7 billion-asset McLean, Va., financial services company through 2009 after North Fork was sold for $13.2 billion in December, will remain in an advisory role.
Mr. Kanas told American Banker last month that such a transition would occur, making it clear that he had felt hampered at times at Capital One. “I’m not a corporate guy who likes to sit down through a series of meetings to get it done,” he said then. “And it’s hard for me to not be the last word.”
Mr. Kanas was North Fork’s president from 1981 through last year’s sale. When Capital One announced in March 2006 that it had agreed to buy the Melville, N.Y., company, many on Wall Street expected Mr. Kanas to retire rather than take a back seat to Richard Fairbank, Capital One’s chairman, president, and CEO.
But Mr. Kanas said at the time, “For those of you who know me, I can’t even spell the word retirement.”
John Bohlsen, a former North Fork vice chairman who oversees commercial banking at Capital One, will also leave on Aug. 6. Michael Slocum, head of real estate financial services at Wachovia Corp. of Charlotte, will succeed him.
Less than two weeks ago, Capital One said it would eliminate about 2,000 jobs to cut expenses by $700 million by 2009. The moves are expected to generate charges of about $200 million this year, including $90 million for the second quarter. On Monday, Capital One said it would take an additional $27 million charge because of the accelerated vesting of equity awards made to Mr. Kanas and Mr. Bohlsen.
Capital One spokeswoman Julie Rakes said the changes were a function of Ms. Pike’s “coming up to speed really well” and of Capital One’s ability to hire Mr. Slocum.
Mr. Kanas did not return a call seeking comment.
