John Thain never broke a glass panel by hurling a chair at it.

“That story is apocryphal,” said a person familiar with the matter.

We spoke to people inside Merrill Lynch who would have known if a glass panel was broken. It’s their job to clean it up. They said it never happened.

“There was a heated argument, and lots of shouting. But no glass was broken,” another person said.

Jesse Derris, John Thain's spokesman, said it would have been impossible for Thain to break a glass panel by throwing a chair because there was no glass panel in the room.

At the time, John Thain was getting news that Merrill Lynch would have to post staggering losses for the fourth quarter of 2008.  The New York Times reported that Thain lost his cool in a meeting with the Merrill's chief financial officer.

"But Merrill’s seemingly intractable losses tried even Mr. Thain, who has a reputation for keeping his cool. Last summer, fuming over another grim quarter for the firm, he halted a meeting with his chief financial officer and hurled a chair against the wall, shattering a nearby glass panel, according to people briefed on the meeting," the Times reported.

So if the glass was never broken, why did the story of the tantrum run in the Times?

“I think this is an example of a reporter who found a story too compelling not to tell, despite the fact that it was fabricated by whoever told it to them,” Derris told us.

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Deputy Editor Joe Weisenthal and Managing Editor John Carney talk about the movers and shakers of 2009. Then they speculate on the big names of 2010. Here are the highlights:

• Ken Lewis' fall from grace
• The fallout from the Bank of America and Merrill Lynch merger
• Jamie Dimon: 2009's Banker of the Year
• Names to watch for in 2010
• A Ken Lewis Book in 2010?
• Keeping an eye on John Paulson

Watch Also – 2009: The Year Of The Great Reversal

Produced By: Kamelia Angelova & William Wei

More Video: TBI Calendar Click HERE >

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Did John Thain want Brian Moynihan's new position? Well, he never flat out says that he didn't want the job, but instead, he emphasizes the extreme level of difficulty involved with the position. He also agrees with the notion that paying competitive bonuses to hold on to key staff is necessary.

Right beside Thain was Rodgin Cohen who states his case for ending the notion that some companies are "too big to fail."

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Bloomberg is reporting that John Thain may accept the CEO position for CIT Group.

Thain has recently confronted the fact that some institutions are truly "too big to fail." He says that assessing some sort of "fee" tied to banks may help regulation but has been vague on details.

His new rhetoric is probably welcome at a lender like CIT, who nearly came close to extinction last year and was forced to enter bankruptcy to shed its massive amount of debt.

Bloomberg: John Thain, who was Merrill Lynch & Co.’s chief executive officer before being ousted a year ago, has held talks to become the head of CIT Group Inc., the commercial lender that emerged from bankruptcy last month, according to people familiar with the matter.

Jeffrey Peek, the former investment banker who has managed New York-based CIT since 2004, is scheduled to leave Jan. 15, CIT said in a statement today. Thain is considering alternatives and hasn’t made any decisions, according to one of the people, who declined to be identified because CIT’s search for a new CEO is private.

Joining CIT would return Thain, 54, to the top of a public company a year after he was pushed out by Kenneth D. Lewis, then the CEO of Bank of America Corp., which agreed to buy Merrill Lynch amid the 2008 financial crisis. CIT hasn’t publicly identified potential replacements for Peek, 62, and spokesman Curt Ritter declined to comment on candidates. The search continues, Ritter said.

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At the heart of Andrew Cuomo's charges of fraud against Ken Lewis, Joe Price, and Bank of America is the allegation that they were aware of much larger losses at Merrill Lynch than they let on to shareholders or regulators.

This must be a relief to John Thain and other executives at Merrill Lynch. Cuomo has concluded that the Merrill executives did not hide anything from their counterparts at Bank of America. Quite the opposite.

"Merrill Lynch was transparent in providing its financial information to BoA," the complaint states.

Somewhere John Thain, who was vilified after the losses became public knowledge and forced to resign shortly after the deal closed, must be smiling.

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It's official. John Thain is set to take over as CEO of troubled CIT, according to WSJ.

Reports to this effect had emerged in recent weeks, and it represents a pretty incredible comeback for Thain, who was unceremoniously booted from Bank of America following reports of his luxurious office, as well as gigantic losses at the once iconic institution (Merrill).

For CIT it represents a bet that Thain, despite his reputation, knows a hell of a lot about the industry, and what it will take to turn the ship around.

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Earlier on Bloomberg TV, Pay Czar Kenneth Feinberg said that Lloyd Blankfein's bonus is indeed excessive, but at the same time, Goldman Sachs is technically following his advice.

"Clearly, Goldman is following the prescriptions I've laid out. Mr. Blankfein's getting very low base cash salary and his total comp is again tied up in long-term stock, the value of which cannot be determined, or transferred, for about five years. That is the type of compensation we're looking for where value is tied to the total performance of the company itself."

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John Thain has just been named CEO of CIT and to celebrate we're helping him do a bit of shopping.

As you may recall, back at Merrill Lynch Thain got into a bit of trouble before for his lavish office decorating, which cost Merrill Lynch $1.22 million.

Back in September, Thain admitted that this was a terrible mistake. "If I had that to do over again, I’d furnish it in Ikea,” Thain said.

We doubt John Thain has ever tried to shop at Ikea. So now that he has the chance to do it all over again at CIT, we decided to help him downscale his furnishings.

As a result of this Ikea shopping, Thain would save a ton! And maybe even restore his reputation. (Or at least establish that he has a sense of humor.)

See our IKEA furniture picks for Mr. Thain's new office >

DOKUMENT Waste Bin: $5.99

Clear, transparent waste bin so that all the documents you want the Feds to see you trashed are right front and center.

Merrill Lynch Office Parchment Waste Can: $1400

Savings: $1394.01

Source: IKEA

ERIK Filing Cabinet: $89.99

Solid filing cabinet with all the fixings, including the locking bottom drawer.

Merrill Lynch Commode On Legs:  $35,000

Savings: $34,910.01

Source: IKEA

The MATTEUS Desk: $179.00

Not exactly executive quality, the MATTEUS desk at least has room for an all important Bloomberg terminal, best watched when your company's CDS really starts to skyrocket.

Merrill Lynch George IV Desk: $18,000

Savings: $17,821

Source: IKEA

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CIT made two important moves yesterday.

First, the company said it woud delay its annual report for a coupe of weeks because of the timing of its emergence from bankruptcy. The company expects to announce it lost around $900 million last quarter and $4 billion for the year. The reported losses could be lower, however, due to the cancellation of debts through the bankruptcy procedure.

Perhaps more interestingly, CEO John Thain also made an internal announcement to employees yesterday informing them that all bonuses would be cancelled.

DealBreaker's Bess broke the news:

The news was announced on an employee-wide call yesterday, and is said to have come as a bit of a shock, as people were expecting to get their numbers this week and their money on March 16 (though I suppose you could make the argument the former was delivered on schedule, it just happens to be zero). According to Thain, 2009 was “a difficult year for CIT, and though full year results have yet to be published, there is no question losses will be in the billions. As such, and given the sensitives in Washington and the world, it wouldn’t be right to give out bonuses as planned.”

Here's the APs story on the earnings report:

CIT Group Inc., a commercial lender forced into bankruptcy protection last year as customers fell behind on repaying loans, said Monday that it expects to report a loss of about $900 million in the fourth quarter and about $4 billion for the year.

Those numbers, however, do not include the effect of the company's massive Chapter 11 reorganization. The company said its $4 billion loss for the year would be offset by the cancellation of debts.

CIT, which is one of the nation's largest lenders to small and mid-sized businesses, was forced into bankruptcy protection after failing to raise cash to pay off outstanding debt. CIT was also hammered by mounting loan losses as more customers fell behind on repayments.

The company filed for Chapter 11 relief on Nov. 1 and emerged from bankruptcy protection on Dec. 10. CIT moved through bankruptcy proceedings in just six weeks because its key bondholders had already approved a plan to reorganize the company.

CIT was scheduled to report its earnings on Monday, but said it would need until March 16 to do so because of the timing of its emergence from bankruptcy protection.

In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the New York-based company estimated $4 billion in losses in 2009, including a $692 million impairment charge, higher provisions for credit losses and lower revenue from net interest. That compares with a loss of $2.9 billion in 2008, a period that included a $2.2 billion loss from a discontinued operation related to the sale of a home-lending business.

CIT shares slipped 21 cents to $36.34 in after-hours trading, after advancing 12 cents to $36.55 during the regular session Monday.

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The long awaited casting of Jamie Dimon is finally released thanks to Deadline.

Bill Pullman will play Jamie Dimon in Too Big To Fail.

John Thain has also just been cast. He'll be played by Matthew Modine, the guy from Full Metal Jacket and Weeds (he's dating Celia but has an affair with Nancy).

Lloyd Blankfein *might* be played by the guy from Sex and the City.

And Dimon just got BURNED.

Look how much hotter the guy playing John Thain is:

Click here to see who else is cast in Too Big To Fail >>

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An excerpt from a new book by the Financial Times' Greg Farrell tells a very interesting story about how Brian Moynihan got his job, first as General Counsel for Bank of America Merrill Lynch, and then eventually, as CEO.

Brian Moynihan (aka the Tazmanian Devil), remember, almost left Bank of America. The firm had already drawn up a press release announcing his departure. But then he became General Counsel, by ousting Tim Mayopoulos, who Greg Farrell describes as an egomaniacal wild man.

Here's an excerpt from his new book, Crash of the Titans:

[Pete Kelly, a lawyer from Bank of America who was starting a new job working with Merrill Lynch after the merger] had sensed some reluctance on the part of [Tom Mayopoulos] to have him on his team. Now, alone with his new boss, Kelly watched that reluctance burst forth in a spasm of contempt.

“I picked you for this position,” Mayopoulos said with an edge in his voice. “You’re going to do the job the way I tell you to, and don’t forget it.”

“We’ll see about that,” replied Kelly, who knew he had been forced on Mayopoulos by [John Thain] and [Greg Fleming].

“No. We won’t see about that. That’s the way it’s going to be. I know more about investment banking than you do. I’m better at this than you are!”

“If saying it makes it so,” snapped Kelly. “Otherwise, it’s up to the client to decide.”

.............

After about an hour, Mayopoulos took Kelly to a different conference room, where they were joined by Caccamise and David Grimes, the chief operating officer of BofA’s legal department. Now it was three against one...

“I don’t think I need you three guys in a room telling me how to run this unit,” he said. “I’ll figure it out on my own.”

“You just don’t get it, do you?” said Mayopoulos. “I decide how this is supposed to work, not you!”

“I’m responsible for this area,” Kelly insisted. “I’ll make the calls.”

They had come to an impasse, and Kelly felt Mayopoulos may have reached the breaking point with him.

The door opened, and Mayopoulos’s secretary entered the room.

“Tim, Amy Brinkley needs you for a moment in your office. It’s important,” she said discreetly.

Mayopoulos was adamant as he left the conference room.

“We’re going to finish this,” he snapped at Kelly. “Don’t you go anywhere.”

He strode down the hall toward his office and entered. When he saw Brinkley, his boss, he greeted her.

“Tim, Ken is replacing you as general counsel,” she said coldly. “He just decided this. Brian Moynihan is going to become the new general counsel.”

And that's how fast Moynihan took over.

Mayopoulos was stunned and couldn’t even get a word out.

“You are terminated from Bank of America as of this moment, and you are to leave the premises immediately. You can’t take anything with you. There’s someone from HR outside the office who has your severance papers.”

And with that, Brinkley left, and in walked a man from Steele Alphin’s department holding a sheaf of papers. He took Mayopoulos’s corporate ID card, company credit card, BlackBerry, and office keys, and put them down on the desk. Then, having done everything but read him his Miranda rights, he escorted Mayopoulos to the elevator and down to the executive garage in the basement of the building, and got into Mayopoulos’s car so that he could physically escort him off the premises.

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Greg Farrell writes a lot in his book, Crash of the Titans, about the big egos of two of the men - O'Neal and Thain - who led Merrill Lynch back-to-back.

So we asked Greg Farrell, the author of Crash of the Titans, to explain the different leadership styles of Stan O'Neal and John Thain.

Farrell told us that while Thain was worried about his public image, O'Neal was "intellectually very honest."

Find out more about the two former Merrill CEOs in our interview with Greg Farrell above.

And Don't Miss...

• Why Is Greg Fleming Still A Hero After The Demise Of Merrill Lynch?

• The Human Resources Department At Bank Of America Was Like The "Gestapo"

• How One Man Brought Down Merrill Lynch

Produced By: Kamelia Angelova & William Wei

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HBO's movie version of Andrew Ross Sorkin's bestseller "Too Big Too Fail" brought some of Hollywood's energy to the story of the 2008 financial crisis.

We've put together our favorite lines from the movie in approximate chronological order to give you a fast play-by-play of the film and its tale of the 2008 financial crisis.

Bear Stearns has just barely escaped collapse and now Lehman Brothers is threatened. Hank Paulson shares his concerns about Lehman and its CEO, Dick Fuld, with Ben Bernanke.

As Fannie and Freddie risk collapse, China warns Paulson that they have a lot of money invested in the mortgage giants. Paulson tells Bernanke the risks of not stepping in.

Lehman talks to Bank of America about a merger. Bank takeover consultant Chris Flowers tells BOA's CEO Greg Curl he should consider it.

He goes on to say: "Paulson is posturing. He’ll write a check just like he did for Jamie Dimon on the Bear deal. He has to; he can’t lose another major bank in an election year. Besides, the guy made like a half a billion bucks at Goldman Sachs. He lets Lehman die, Goldman’s biggest competitor, makes him look like he’s still working for Goldman, he’s just doing it out of a desk at Treasury…"

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It's been a tough few years, and some of you still have a bone to pick with Wall Street.

Well, look no further. 

Nick Friedman's Clay Portrait Gallery in North Carolina has a weird answer for you: set the heads of your favorite Wall St. villains on fire!

Boom. Hank Paulson's head on a stick with a wick!

The perfect barbecue companion. 

Ben Bernanke

Lloyd Blankfein

Jamie Dimon

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The new movie "Margin Call" is about executives trying to save a 107-year-old bank during the financial crisis.

Guess what the CEO's name in the movie is.

John Tuld, which as the Wall Street Journal points out, is a hybrid between Lehman Brother's ex-CEO Dick Fuld and Merill Lynch's ex-CEO John Thain.

The cast includes Kevin Spacey, Gossip Girl's Penn Badgley and Demi Moore.

The movie will be in theaters on October 21. Check out the trailer. 

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Formula One's chief executive Bernie Ecclestone confessed in court that he bribed a former BayernLB banker named Gerhard Gribkowsky to stay quiet and keep tax officials at bay while acquiring the rights for his auto racing sport five years ago.

Former Merrill Lynch chief John Thain, who's currently the head of CIT, and his wife Carmen underwrote the restoration of the 50-acre New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx.  The area has been named the Thain Family Forest.

Credit Suisse Group Japan CEO Paul Kuo will step down on January 1 and will be replaced by Olivier Thiriet, who currently heads the Swiss bank’s Asia- Pacific cash equities operations.

Disgraced Galleon chief Raj Rajaratnam, who was sentenced to 11 years for organizing one of the largest insider trading circles in history, was slapped with a massive $92 million civil penalty yesterday.

The Justice Department is not investigating the role former SEC lawyer David Becker, who was allowed to participate in discussions about the compensation of victims of Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff even though he had a financial interest in the result.

Hong Kong's chief executive Donald Tsang told Pershing Square's Bill Ackman, who's betting on the $HK appreciating, to piss off, and said that the hedge fund manager will "lose a lot of money."

MF Global employees are coming to the office in much more formal attire than usual.  That's because they're going on job interviews elsewhere when they're not conducting liquidation trades. 

Ken Griffin's Citadel's Kensington and Wellington funds were up 2.32% in October and 17.67% YTD.

Speaking of Ken Griffin, here's his business card. 

Michael Blum, a German national and the COO of Hedgeye Risk Management, has booked two trips to outer space.

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740 Park Avenue is a legendary address, at one time considered (and still thought to be by some) the most luxurious and powerful residential building in New York City.

The co-op, on the corner of 71st Street and Park Avenue, has an impressive past.

Built in 1929 by the grandfather of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis--who lived there as a child--740 Park has just 31 residences that have, over time, commanded some of the highest real estate prices in New York history.

Its roster of residents, past and present, reads like a "who's who" of New York's wealthiest and most famous citizens.

It's even the subject of a 2005 book by Michael Gross (he now runs a blog about the building).

740 Park opened its doors in October 1930, in the heart of the depression. It remained a 'financial sinkhole' until the 1980s, when apartment prices rose astronomically.

Source: 740 Park: The Story Of The World's Richest Apartment Building by Michael Gross

These days, only the wealthiest types are even considered for admission to the co-op. Applicants must be able to show a liquid net worth of $100 million.

Source: 740 Park: The Story Of The World's Richest Apartment Building by Michael Gross

But wealth isn't the only factor. Barbra Streisand, Neil Sedaka, junk bond tycoon Nelson Peltz, and Russian billionaire Leo Blavatnik have all been rejected by the co-op board.

Source: 740 Park: The Story Of The World's Richest Apartment Building by Michael Gross

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Former Merrill Lynch CEO John Thain has been named "Father of the Year," by The Father's Day/ Mother's Day Council.

Thain, who is currently CIT Group's CEO, will be recognized as "Father of the Year" on June 14th at the Sheraton New York Hotel & Tower. 

The other dads being honored include Oscar Feldenkreis, COO and President of Perry Ellis International; Reynold Levy, president of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and Shaquille O'Neal.  

Here's a description: 

The National Father’s Day Committee, an entity of the Father’s Day/Mother’s Day Council, each year confers Father of the Year Honors on contemporary lifestyle leaders of our culture whose lives are dedicated to family, citizenship, charity, civility, responsibility and reverence. The funds raised by our Annual Father of the Year Awards Presentation are directed to the support of worthwhile concerns affecting men, fathers, and families. The objective of our program is to enhance the meaning of Father’s Day and encourage universal observance.

Thain was the last chief executive of Merrill Lynch before it merged with Bank of America.  He was also an executive at Goldman Sachs and the New York Stock Exchange. 

SEE ALSO: Meet 19 Hot-Shot Athletes On Wall Street >

* Note: An earlier version referred to Oscar Feldenkreis as CEO of Perry Ellis.  He is the COO and President.

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Former Merrill Lynch CEO John Thain was honored as a "Father of the Year" last night in Manhattan by The Father's Day/ Mother's Day Council.

Thain, who is currently CIT Group's CEO, was recognized last night at the Sheraton New York Hotel & Tower along with Oscar Feldenkreis, COO and President of Perry Ellis International; Reynold Levy, president of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and Shaquille O'Neal.  

Thain was the last chief executive of Merrill Lynch before it merged with Bank of America.  

In 2009, he was criticized for spending $1.2 million to redecorate his office, which included purchasing something called a "commode on legs" for $35,000.  That "commode on legs" actually turned out to be a lavish chest of drawers and not a fancy toilet. 

Anyway, these days he's being honored as one of the best dads in America.  

Check out the image below Tweeted by Mark Shriver. 

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We cannot wait until former FDIC Chair Sheila Bair gets to tell her side of the story in her new book, Bull by the Horns: Fighting to Save Main Street From Wall Street and Wall Street From Itself.

The book is due out on September 25th, but Fortune has an advanced excerpt with some super juicy details that Business Insider would like to bring to your attention.

First off, Bair clearly did not like Vikram Pandit. Here's how she describes him when she entered a meeting with the major bank CEOs in October of 2008:

Pandit looked nervous, and no wonder. More than any other institution represented in that room, his bank was in trouble. Frankly, I doubted that he was up to the job. He had been brought in to clean up the mess at Citi. He had gotten the job with the support of Robert Rubin, the former secretary of the Treasury who now served as Citi's titular head. I thought Pandit had been a poor choice. He was a hedge fund manager by occupation and one with a mixed record at that. He had no experience as a commercial banker, yet now he was heading one of the biggest banks in the country.

Also at the meeting was Jamie Dimon, who is of course her favorite. After the glowing description below, she later calls him the "grown up in the room":

The smartest was Jamie Dimon, the CEO of J.P. Morgan Chase... Dimon was a towering figure in height as well as leadership ability. He had forewarned of deteriorating conditions in the subprime market in 2006 and had taken preemptive measures to protect his bank before the crisis hit. As a consequence, while other institutions were reeling, mighty J.P. Morgan Chase had scooped up weaker institutions at bargain prices. Several months earlier, at the request of the New York Fed, and with its financial assistance, he had purchased Bear Stearns. A few weeks earlier he had purchased Washington Mutual, a failed West Coast mortgage lender, from us in a competitive process that had required no financial assistance from the government.

And Merrill Lynch's former CEO John Thaine? Bair didn't even think he belonged at the meeting — so maybe she disliked him even more than Pandit. This description is pretty brutal:

Merrill's new CEO, John Thain, stood outside the perimeter of the Dimon-Blankfein-Mack group, trying to listen in. Frankly, I was surprised that he had even been invited. He was younger and less seasoned than the rest of the group. He had been Merrill's CEO for less than a year. His main accomplishment had been to engineer its overpriced sale to Bank of America. Once the BofA acquisition was complete, he would no longer be CEO, if he survived at all.

Bair goes on to wonder if the government should have given these banks any money at all. She conjectures that all of them, except for Citi, could've muddled through — Goldman and Morgan with private money, Merrill through its sale to Bank of America, and as for the rest... they never needed the money.

So what was all this for again?

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