E. Stanley O’Neal, until recently the chief executive of Merrill Lynch, is cleaning out his desk. Charles O. Prince III of Citigroup is watching his company’s stock price fall. James E. Cayne of Bear Stearns is getting slammed in The Wall Street Journal.

And what is Kenneth Lewis, the head of Bank of America, up to this week? He’s getting an award. On Thursday night, the British-American Business Council will honor Mr. Lewis with its Transatlantic Business Award, which, according to a press release, is bestowed for “outstanding leadership in advancement of the trans-Atlantic partnership.” In his acceptance speech, a copy of which was obtained by DealBook, Mr. Lewis is expected to say that, despite last month’s debacle at Bank of America’s investment banking arm, his company is in that business for the long haul.

On an Oct. 18 conference call to discuss Bank of America’s third-quarter results, analysts peppered Mr. Lewis with questions about the $1.33 billion decline in profits at its investment banking unit. Sounding weary, Mr. Lewis commented that “I’ve had all the fun I can stand in investment banking right now,” which helped set off a flurry of speculation about whether the company would pull back from — or even get out of — the business.

Not long after that, Bank of America announced it would cut 3,000 jobs, with the bulk coming from the bank’s global corporate and investment banking business.

Thursday night, however, Mr. Lewis plans to emphasize that, while big changes are possible, his company is hardly abandoning investment banking.

In his speech, Mr. Lewis is expected to say that Bank of America, which is based in Charlotte, N.C., “started building these [investment banking] capabilities 20 years ago because we believed that clients needed us to be able to provide a wide range of products and services as part of a strategic relationship. We still believe that.”

Below, the part of Mr. Lewis’s speech addressing Bank of America’s investment-banking future:

We have said that in the wake of disappointing third quarter results, we are studying our position in different parts of our commercial, corporate and investment banking business. We’re doing that, and that study may result in changes to parts of our platform. We have already announced some changes. These are difficult decisions, but important given the challenges we face.

But I want to be very clear on this point: We are in the investment banking business for our clients and our shareholders. We started building these capabilities 20 years ago because we believed that clients needed us to be able to provide a wide range of products and services as part of a strategic relationship. We still believe that … and the Bank of America investment banking platform that emerges from this process will be the right platform for our business … the right platform for our clients … and one that enables us to deliver the returns our shareholders expect and deserve.

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Copyright 2006 The New York Times Company

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