Financial Roundup: Lewis Faces Board, Sovereign Funds Cut, Small Banks May Fail

(MoneyWatch) 

Lewis to face the music -- Bank of America CEO Kenneth Lewis will appear before his board Wednesday to explain problems with his bank's purchase of troubled Merrill Lynch. Despite speculation that Lewis could be ousted, insiders say his long-standing relationship with directors will save him. [Source: Charlotte Observer]

Sovereign funds scaled back -- The global financial crisis has bitten a chunk out of controversial sovereign wealth funds. Funds owned by such Gulf states as United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Qatar have dropped $100 billion in value to $1.2 trillion. [Source: The Wall Street Journal]

Will 300 small banks fail? Fortune's Stanley Bing says that from 200 to 300 small banks will soon fail and be forced into mergers. [Source: Fortune]

FDIC to ease deposit rules -- The FDIC is expected today to ease rules restricting weak banks from paying higher fees to attract brokered deposits. Until now, banks rated as being below "well-capitalized" have not been allowed to pay rates higher than T-bill yields. [Source: American Banker]

New York Fed gets new chief -- William C. Dudley will replace just-confirmed Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner as head of the New York Fed. Dudley was a behind-the-scenes engineer of the Fed's role in the federal bailout. [Source: The Washington Post]

Citi may sell jet -- Bailout-proneCitigroup has gotten so much negative press over a purchase of a new $50 million corporate jet that it may sell it. [Source: New York Post]