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Article: RELUCTANT REBEL.(Ken Thompson of First Union Corp.)
- Article from:
- Business North Carolina
- Article date:
- November 1, 2000
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2000 Business North Carolina. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Loyalty is a trait that took Ken Thompson to the top. Now he bucks tradition to get his bank back up there.
Nearly an hour and a half go by before Ken Thompson shows the first sign of stress. The topic: Charlotte-based First Union Corp.'s generous dividend -- despite Wall Street pressure to lower it. Up to now, he's answered every question in a far-ranging interview about his background, how the bank stumbled and his decision to take a $2.8 billion restructuring charge to overhaul it. But when it comes to the dividend, he deftly defers. "I would just say that it was debated at our board. But at the end of the day, we've got plenty of capacity to generate all of ...