Smith steps into the breach at Wachovia

Wachovia Corporation announced the retirement of Ken Thompson, its chief executive officer, "at the request of the board" today.

Thompson will be replaced by Lanty Smith on an interim basis. Smith has been the non-executive chairman at the bank since May 8. Also effective from today, Ben Jenkins, the vice-chairman, will be the interim chief operating officer.

On May 8, the Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank announced that the roles of chairman and chief executive officer were being split as a result of the disruption in the market caused by the credit crisis. Thompson, the then chairman and CEO, would be responsible for the bank's response to the credit crisis, while Smith, who was previously an independent director, would take over the day-to-day running of the bank's four business lines. With Thompson departing, Jenkins will now assume responsibility for day-to-day operations, while Smith will oversee the bank's crisis response.

On April 14, the bank reported its first-quarter results, a net loss of $350 million compared with earnings of $2.3 billion for the same period last year. At the same time, the bank announced plans to execute a public offering of shares while reducing its share dividend to preserve $2.1 billion of capital.

The total provision for credit losses stands at $2.8 billion. The bank is expected to announce its second-quarter results on July 22.