Report: Merrill Lynch CEO Spent Over $1M to Redecorate Office

January 22, 2009— -- Less than one month into his new gig at the Bank of America, Merrill Lynch CEO John Thain resigned today after it was revealed that he doled out executive bonuses a month ahead of schedule and just days before his struggling Merrill Lynch firm was acquired by the BofA.

Although no reason was given for his resignation, a spokesman for Bank of America, which acquired Merrill Lynch at the beginning of this year in a government-negotiated deal to save it from collapse, issued a statement saying: "(BofA Chairman and CEO) Ken Lewis flew to New York today to talk to John Thain. And it was mutually agreed that his situation was not working out and he would resign."

The amount in bonuses paid out was between $3 and $4 billion, according to the Financial Times. Exorbitant Wall St. bonuses have garnered increased attention since the economic collapse and subsequent billions in bailout funds have gone to help companies stay afloat.

Bank of America, which received $25 billion in bailout funds before being handed an addition $20 billion last week, said Thursday that it knew Thain gave the incentives ahead of time.

"Merrill was an independent company until Jan. 1 of 2009," said spokesman Scott Silvestri. "John Thain decided to pay year-end incentives in December, as opposed to their normal date in January. Bank of America was informed of his decision."

To make matters worse, Thain is now facing more criticism for reportedly spending $1.2 million to lavishly decorate his Merrill Lynch office early last year while the firm was fighting to survive.

Thain splurged on interior designs from the Obama's chosen White House decorator Michael Smith ($800,000), two area rugs ($131,000), two guest chairs ($87,000), a 19th Century credenza ($68,000), four pairs of curtains ($28,000), and a mahogany pedestal table ($25,000), according to Charlie Gasparino, the CNBC contributor and Daily Beast columnist who broke the story.

Other items mentioned: six dining room chairs ($37,000), a George IV Desk ($18,000), a custom coffee table ($16,000), a sofa ($15,000), a chandelier ($13,000), a mirror ($5,000), six wall sconces ($2,700).

Also reported to be on the list was a trash can for $1,400.

Thain's lavish spending shows that even as the gilded age of Wall St. comes to an end, he "occupied this rarified strata on Wall Street" and "just didn't get it," said banking industry analyst Nancy Bush. "It's time for all this to be gone because the reality needs to set in on Wall St. that the business has changed for the foreseeable future, if not forever," Bush added.