IN FAIRNESS, IT IS HARD TO KEEP TRACK OF ALL THOSE LOUSY DEALS

Brian Moynihan wastes no time in putting BofA’s reputation for executive obliviousness on display:

BANK OF AMERICA CEO MOYNIHAN TALKS UP LOCAL BIZ BANKING, ASKS IF RIVAL PRIVATEBANCORP ‘STILL EXISTS’

(Crain’s) – When Bank of America Corp. bought LaSalle Bank Corp. in 2007, it provoked a mass migration of commercial bankers to smaller lenders, most notably PrivateBancorp Inc., now run by former LaSalle Bank CEO Larry Richman.

But that was a lifetime ago, given what banks and other businesses have been through in the credit crisis and recession.

So, perhaps it shouldn’t have been surprising when Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan, in town to meet with clients, employees and local journalists, said in an interview Tuesday, “Is that company still in existence? PrivateBancorp?”

Recall that PrivateBancorp singlehandedly gutted BofA’s $21 billion LaSalle acquisition within months of the deal’s close via a wholesale poaching of LaSalle bankers. It was a humiliation. And Moynihan’s already moved on? It’s as if they’ve forgotten how to hold grudges in Charlotte. That used to be the one thing they were good at. . . . Where’s Hugh McColl now that we need him? . . .