Police, protesters and irate stockholders!
It’s just your typical shareholder meeting for Bank of America boss Brian Moynihan, who was peppered yesterday by scores of protesters both inside and outside the bank’s Charlotte, NC, headquarters.
For two hours, Moynihan and his team were soundly pilloried for their role in the mortgage mess and the woeful performance of its shares over the past few years.
BofA’s shares are off 37 percent since hitting $12.43 about a year ago — and are 42 percent below the price on the day in 2010 when Moynihan assumed the CEO role.
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Protests swirled inside and outside of Bank of America’s annual meeting yesterday as CEO Brian Moynihan argued the country’s No. 2 lender is following a “disciplined” rebuilding strategy.
“Let Bank of America take care of America,” one attendee yelled at Moynihan. “This is America. Listen to the people in this room.”
One shareholder even called the bank “a felon.”
“We abide by the law every day,” Moynihan shot back.
He coolly defended the progress the bank has made in trying to address its mortgage mistakes and turn around the financial firm’s sluggish stock price amid a creaky economic recovery in the US.
“I love my neighbor as myself,” Moynihan said in response to one complaint. “I think we are doing everything we can,” he added.
“May I remind you, Mr. Moynihan, that the buck stops with you,” another attendee commented.
During the meeting, Moynihan in some cases vowed to personally get help to troubled borrowers. He also spent time extolling some of the virtues of the bank he described as helping to build communities.
Outside, raucous activists circled the bank’s headquarters, toting signs and posters.
The rowdy meeting came even as shareholders approved Moynihan’s 2011 $7 million pay package, comprising $6 million in restricted stock and a $950,000 base salary.
Moynihan’s firm has taken heat for its part in the foreclosure fiasco that led to the nation’s five biggest banks to agree to a sweeping $25 billion settlement.
mark.decambre@nypost.com
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