Nov. 10 (Bloomberg) -- Bank of America Corp. Chief Executive Officer Kenneth D. Lewis, who plans to retire in December, said the recession is ending and the economy’s rebound remains “very fragile.”

“If we are seeing the beginning of a real sustainable recovery, it is still in its very early stages and it is still very fragile,” said Lewis, who runs the biggest U.S. lender, at an investor conference in New York today. Banking has “some way to go” before the industry recovers, Lewis said.

Lewis gave his assessment during one of his final public presentations as head of the Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank. The 62-year-old CEO has said he’ll step down at the end of this year, following criticism from investors, regulators and lawmakers about his handling of the Merrill Lynch & Co. acquisition last year.

The U.S. gross domestic product grew 3.5 percent in the third quarter, its first gain in a year, and the Commerce Department said orders placed with U.S. factories rose in September for the fifth time in six months.

The July 2008 acquisition of Countrywide Financial Corp., the biggest U.S. home lender at the time, and the Jan. 1 takeover of Merrill Lynch, the biggest U.S. brokerage, made Bank of America “a much tougher competitor” and a more diverse, international operation, Lewis told analysts at the Grand Hyatt Hotel. The bank’s capital is “more than adequate,” he said.

“I see no reason for Bank of America not being among the handful of the most successful, most important financial services companies in the world,” Lewis said.

Long-Term View

Lewis drew fire for not disclosing the extent of Merrill’s fourth-quarter losses and bonuses of more than $3 billion before shareholders voted to approve the takeover in December. The loss ultimately reached $15.8 billion and triggered a second U.S. bailout of the bank, and helped prompt investigations by Congress, the Securities and Exchange Commission and New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo.

U.S. regulators pressed the bank to overhaul its board of directors with more banking experience, and Lewis is stepping down before achieving his goal of repaying the $45 billion obtained from the Treasury Department’s Troubled Asset Relief Program. The stock dropped 19 percent in the past 12 months ended yesterday, and fell as low as $2.53 in February. The stock added 6 cents to $15.83 at 9:36 a.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading.

Bank of America expects to achieve 45 percent of its $7 billion in cost savings from acquiring Merrill this year, ahead of the 25 percent anticipated when the transaction was completed, Lewis said.

CEOs must handle short-term issues while “steadfastly maintaining the long-term view,” Lewis said. “I believe my actions have been true.”

To contact the reporter on this story: David Mildenberg in Charlotte at dmildenberg@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: November 10, 2009 09:53 EST