Thain to repay lavish office costs

John Thain, former Chief Executive of Merrill Lynch & Co. pledged to reimburse to the firm the $1.2 million he spent to renovate his office saying it was a mistake.

The expenses were incurred over a year ago in a very different environment, Thain said in a memo to top Merrill executives dated Sunday, according to Bloomberg. They were a mistake in the light of the world we live in today. I will therefore reimburse the company for all of the costs incurred.

Thain resigned from Bank of America last Thursday, three weeks after Merrill Lynch and BofA merged. Criticism on him increased for reporting an unexpected $15.3 billion loss in the fourth quarter which its almost entirety was attributed to legacy positions and market movements, Thain in the memo said.

His image decayed also on the rare payment of $4 billion worth in bonuses earlier than usual to executives of Merrill Lynch prior to the completion of the merger deal.