Unsolicited Input
Bank of America Corp.'s chief financial officer, Joe Price, came under fire this week from an environmental activist who crashed his presentation at a San Francisco conference."There's not a lot of profit on a planet that's uninhabitable. Wouldn't you agree?" Brant Olsen, a member of the Rainforest Action Network, asked Mr. Price during a question and answer session Monday. The group also staged a protest outside the Ritz Carlton, where B of A's investment banking unit was hosting the conference.
"We … have initiated a number of environmentally conscious activities over the last year," Mr. Price responded. "We're proud of our record."
Several financial services companies have found themselves in the group's cross hairs.
A B of A spokesman said it is on target to meet a goal set in 2004 to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions of clients in its energy and utility portfolio by 7% by next year. This year it committed $20 billion over the next decade to environmental initiatives.
Mr. Olsen was not invited to the conference, the spokesman said. He was allowed to ask a question and a follow-up before being escorted from the room.
Over the Edge
At the same conference, Richard Kovacevich was asked his view of the monoline model in the wake of the recent binge in subprime mortgage lending.The Wells Fargo & Co. chairman said that even when the top brass at monolines realize a disaster, such as the subprime debacle, is around the corner, they tend not to slow their business, because they fear they will "get murdered" by Wall Street analysts.
"So you just keep going, and we go over the cliff holding hands singing 'Kumbaya,' " he said. "When you are diversified, you have the opportunity to slow things down and not disappoint the Street, because something over here is probably doing well."
Switching Roles
Greg Ketron, the head of investor relations at SunTrust Banks Inc., made a career change Monday when he joined Citigroup Inc. as an equity analyst.Mr. Ketron joined Citi's research department and is expected to cover regional banks and processing companies, according to people familiar with the matter. It is unclear whether he would cover his previous employer.
Citi did not discuss the hiring.
He will work alongside Keith Horowitz, who covers large-cap banking companies at Citi.
Steven Shriner has succeeded Mr. Ketron at SunTrust. Mr. Shriner was its senior financial officer for key business lines, such as wealth and investment management and mortgages.
