Bank of America exec stripped of his role after death of Green Beret employee who worked 100 hours per week

A Bank of America executive pinch a estimation for driving inferior bankers difficult has been reassigned to a caller domiciled astatine nan institution pursuing nan decease of a inferior worker who had been moving 100-hour weeks.

Gary Howe was the head of Bank of America's Financial Institutions Group (FIG), and had been known to not strictly enforce nan 80-hour moving week maximum norm for his inferior bankers. 

Working nether Howe had been Leo Lukenas III, a erstwhile Green Beret, who died abruptly successful May astatine nan property of 35. He had been moving astir nan timepiece to adjacent a awesome merger earlier his death.

In nan weeks prior, Lukenas complained astir nan magnitude of clip he had been moving and had considered asking for a 10 percent salary trim successful return for less hours and much sleep.

Now Howe, a elder executive astatine nan bank, has had his oversight of nan section stripped pinch immoderate suggesting it whitethorn only beryllium a matter of clip earlier he leaves nan institution entirely. 

Howe's boss, nan bank's CEO and Chair Brian Moynihan, has a estimation of not firing workers and prefers to nonstop a awesome by demoting them instead. 

Howe, 54, was stripped of his work complete nan FinTech finance banking squad successful August - a important simplification successful his authority.

Bank of America is known for handling soul issues quietly, often done salary reductions and title changes alternatively than outright dismissals, making it difficult for executives to enactment agelong word successful specified circumstances. 

No disciplinary action has been taken against Howe but astir 50 of nan 150 labor successful his FinTech portion were reassigned to different group past week, reports Bloomberg.

Lukenas' decease has served to item nan grueling conditions faced by inferior bankers and nan excessive hours worked. 

This incident besides sparked statement astir whether nan civilization wrong nan finance manufacture is simply excessively demanding and whether due safeguards are successful spot for employees.  

Legal experts person suggested that nan slope mightiness beryllium distancing itself from Howe to mitigate imaginable ineligible fallout from Lukenas' death, though location is nary actual grounds that nan inferior banker's excessive activity hours straight contributed to his passing. 

Still, Lukenas' death, reportedly caused by a fatal humor clot, occurred aft an extended play of aggravated work, pinch immoderate family members believing nan unit he faced astatine activity whitethorn person played a role.

Howe has ne'er publically commented connected nan matter and took down his LinkedIn relationship pursuing nan incident.  

Despite a simplification successful his oversight responsibilities, Matthew Koder, caput of world firm and finance banking, has said Howe continues stay a weighted leader successful nan FIG group. 

'Gary has our afloat support arsenic leader of our Global Financial Institutions Investment Banking group and we proceed to put successful this starring franchise,' Koder said to nan New York Post.

Howe himself had a estimation for pushing inferior bankers to their limits, which drew complaints from those who worked nether him. 

Those who had worked pinch him astatine UBS criticized his guidance style and nan agelong hours required for tasks that included assembling transportation books, often for deals that ne'er materialized. 

At Bank of America his demanding quality followed him wherever he drove his squad difficult including nan enforcement of a acold stricter return-to-office argumentation post-pandemic which required labor to beryllium successful nan agency by 9:30am 4 days a week.

This summer, nan slope implemented stricter measures to show employees' activity hours and rolled retired a caller strategy requiring inferior bankers to study their hours regular alternatively of weekly. 

This alteration came aft a Wall Street Journal investigation revealed really immoderate managers instructed labor to underreport their hours and disregard nan 80-hour play limit put successful spot complete a decade ago, requiring support for immoderate exceptions. 

The limit was established aft nan decease of an intern who had worked astir 72 hours straight.

However, sources judge that moreover pinch these rules successful place, immoderate inferior bankers, for illustration Lukenas, recovered themselves moving good beyond nan recommended limits.

Lukenas, who joined Bank of America successful March 2023, lived successful Brooklyn pinch his woman and 2 young children. 

The erstwhile personnel of nan Army's Special Forces moved to banking successful an effort to 'pursue caller opportunities for his family,' according to his loved ones. 

Those adjacent to him opportunity he had expressed vexation complete nan agelong hours and nan toll they were taking connected his individual life and had considered leaving nan firm, speaking pinch recruiters astir imaginable occupation opportunities astatine rival banks. 

His decease came conscionable days aft completing activity connected a $2 cardinal merger betwixt UMB Financial and Heartland Financial.

One inferior banker astatine BoA said of Lukenas' death: 'I deliberation what we each would want is immoderate acknowledgement astir what happened, and astatine slightest not wholly disregard nan truth that it could person been work-related.

'And to astatine slightest conscionable commencement having those conversations arsenic to really they tin make inferior bankers activity life overmuch amended because it's been agelong overdue. And I judge that, if anything, it's gotten worse.'

Howe attended Lukenas' ceremonial alongside astir 50 Bank of America employees, including elder executives. 

A donation page was group up by nan nonprofit group 51 Vets successful his grant pinch a extremity of reaching $1,000,000. 

While nan semipermanent effect of this incident connected Bank of America's soul civilization remains to beryllium seen, rival banks are besides making changes.

Last month, JPMorgan, 1 of Bank of America's main competitors, implemented its ain headdress connected activity hours for inferior bankers, limiting them to 80 hours per week.

Whether specified moves will lead to lasting alteration successful Wall Street's high-pressure situation remains to beryllium seen arsenic labor and insiders watch really nan manufacture responds to expanding scrutiny.

DailyMail.com has reached retired to Bank of America for comment.