[Photo: Forbes.com]

Brian Moynihan has been CEO of Bank of America for 7 years, and when he took the helm in 2009, return on shareholder equity wasn't positive. The stock price has gone up, but stock buybacks are at an all-time high for the company. In other words, Moynihan seems to be admitting that he can only invest the capital that investors have given him at a return less than the estimated cost of capital.

Since he took over, the return on equity has steadily risen: 0.6% (2011), 1.8% (2012), 4.9% (2013), 2% (2014), 6.2% (2015), and 6.7% (2016), according to figures released last Friday. With the "theoretical" cost of capital in the banking industry at an estimated 10%, equity investors are losing money on the capital that they have given Moynihan to play with.

By this measure, he's doing a lousy job, and that might even be an overstatement.

The fourth quarter was a good one for BofA, judging by the company beating analysts' earnings expectations. But, if expectations are extraordinarily low, what does that really mean?

One could say that Moynihan has moved the bank in the right direction because its ROE has risen over time. But, after 7 years as chief executive, the bank is still only earning a 6.7% ROE.