It’s now only eight weeks before Ken Lewis will step down and go somewhere where he can grow a beard in peace. Nevertheless, a replacement for him has yet to be found.

CNBC reports that the announcement of Ken’s successor has been delayed “until next week” so that the bank can, “conduct a wide-ranging search for the bank's next leader and appease some investors and analysts who want an experienced outsider to replace Lewis.”

With only days to go, things seem to be getting a little desperate, however. Bob Diamond, Larry Fink and Greg Fleming are all understood to have turned their noses up at the role, prompting BofA to knock on the door of Robert Kelly, CEO of Bank of New York Mellon, who reportedly said he had “no interest” in taking over from Ken.

Who are the other outside candidates? There’s always Bill Winters, although he’s reportedly not to be very keen either. Or, with Ken out of the picture, there’s always John Thain, who apparently had a small celebration at the news of Lewis’s retirement. However, Thain already has a new career in giving speeches on what went wrong.

London-based global head of fixed income sales at JP Morgan is thinking of quitting. (Wall Street Journal)

Citigroup Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. are hoarding cash as if another crisis were on the way. (Bloomberg)

Citigroup’s operations are not yet generating enough profits to cover potentially devastating write-downs to come. (NY Times)

Smaller companies (Moelis, Exotix and Otkritie Securities), getting ready for a hiring spree. (Financial News)

Morgan Stanley hires electronic trading specialist from CA Cheuvreux. (Financial News)

SocGen to expand Asia fixed income staff by at least 10%. (Bloomberg)

Who else has been hiring in the City. (CityAm)

Blackstone eyes broad Chinese expansion. (WSJ)

Wall Street’s sham profits. (WSJ)

How Goldman secretly bet on the US housing crash. (McClatchy)

Goldman would like to reduce its tax bill by buying tax credits from Fannie Mae. (WSJ)

Why Goldman WAS hedged against AIG. (Economics of Contempt)

Breaking down your banking paycheck. (WallStreetOasis)

Do smart, hardworking people deserve to make more money? (Baseline Scenario)

Simon Robey is heavily into opera. (Bloomberg)