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Steve Chiotakis: It’s the latest Wall Street firm to lose its CEO to the credit crisis. Bank of America’s Kenneth Lewis announced his retirement to the board late yesterday. From New York, Marketplace’s Alisa Roth has more.

Alisa Roth: Kenneth Lewis’s decision surprised Bank of America’s board. Though he had reportedly talked to the chairman and a small group of directors about it already.

Lewis is under state and federal investigation over B of A’s acquisition of Merrill Lynch last year. Some investors say he paid too much. And that he didn’t tell them about gigantic bonuses to the bank’s execs. He had been seen as a hero for saving Merrill Lynch from exploding the way Lehman Brothers did.

Because he’s retiring, Lewis won’t get a severance package. He will get a pension, though, which is reportedly worth more than $50 million. He also gets more than $80 million in stock and other benefits. The bank hasn’t named his successor yet.

In New York, I’m Alisa Roth for Marketplace.