Bank of America Corporation (BAC) - Richard Bove at Rochdale Securities

Bank of America Merrill Lynch ( BAC ) chief executive Ken Lewis, slated to leave the bank at the end of the year, could actually stay on as CEO, Rochdale Securities analyst Dick Bove said Friday. No successor has yet been named for Lewis, who has been under fire from regulators and lawmakers since the company's takeover of Merrill, leading Bove to believe that he could succeed ..himself. "In sum, Mr. Lewis was a key architect in the creation and management of Bank of America. He knows this company better than anyone else and he knows how to operate it," Bove wrote in a research note issued early Friday morning.