Merrill Lynch - wikipedia Merrill Lynch This article is about the wealth management division of Bank of America, and Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. as an independent company prior to its January 2009 acquisition by Bank of America. For investment banking division of Bank of America, see Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Merrill Lynch Wealth Management Type Division Industry Financial services Founded January 6, 1914 ; 104 years ago ( 1914 - 01 - 06 ) Founder Charles E. Merrill Headquarters 250 Vesey Street New York City, New York, U.S. Area served Worldwide Services Investment management Revenue US $13.8 billion ( 2012 ) Number of employees 15,100 ( Financial Advisors as of 2010 ) Parent Bank of America Website ML.com Merrill Lynch Wealth Management is an American wealth management division under the auspices of Bank of America. Along with Bank of America Merrill Lynch, the investment banking arm, both firms engage in prime brokerage and security dealings. The firm is headquartered in New York City, and occupies the entire 34 stories of 250 Vesey Street, part of the Brookfield Place complex, in Manhattan. Merrill Lynch employs over 15,000 financial advisors and manages $2.2 trillion in client assets. The firm has its origins in Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. which, prior to 2009, was publicly owned and traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol MER. Merrill Lynch & Co. agreed to be acquired by Bank of America on September 14, 2008, at the height of the 2008 Financial Crisis. The acquisition was completed in January 2009 and Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. was merged into Bank of America Corporation in October 2013, although certain Bank of America subsidiaries continue to carry the Merrill Lynch name, including the broker - dealer Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith. Contents 1 History 1.1 Founding and early history 1.2 Rise to prominence 1.3 Orange County settlement 1.4 Subprime mortgage crisis 1.4. 1 CDO controversies 1.5 Sale to Bank of America 2 Regulatory actions 2.1 Analyst Research settlement 2.2 Enron / Merrill Lynch Nigerian barge 2.3 Discrimination charges 2.4 Market timing settlement 2.5 2008 bonus payments 3 Industry awards 4 Organizational Structure 5 Merrill Lynch as a subsidiary 6 Merrill Edge 7 See also 8 References 9 Further reading 10 External links History Founding and early history The company was founded on January 6, 1914, when Charles E. Merrill opened his Charles E. Merrill & Co. for business at 7 Wall Street in New York City. A few months later, Merrill 's friend, Edmund C. Lynch, joined him, and in 1915 the name was officially changed to Merrill, Lynch & Co. At that time, the firm 's name included a comma between Merrill and Lynch. In 1916, Winthrop H. Smith joined the firm. Merrill Lynch logo c. 1917 In its early history, Merrill, Lynch & Co. made several successful investments. In 1921, the company purchased Pathé Exchange, which later became RKO Pictures. In 1926, the firm made its most significant financial investment at the time, purchasing a controlling interest in Safeway, transforming the small grocery store into the country 's third largest grocery store chain by the early 1930s. In 1930, Charles Merrill led the firm through a major restructuring, spinning - off the company 's retail brokerage business to E.A. Pierce & Co. to focus on investment banking. Along with the business, Merrill also transferred the bulk of its employees, including Edmund C. Lynch and Winthrop H. Smith. Charles Merrill received a minority interest in E.A. Pierce in the transaction. Throughout the 1930s, E.A. Pierce remained the largest brokerage in the U.S. The firm, led by Edward A. Pierce, Edmund Lynch and Winthrop Smith would also prove one of the most innovative in the industry, introducing IBM machines into the business ' record keeping. Additionally, by 1938, E.A. Pierce would control the largest wire network with a private network of over 23,000 miles of telegraph wires. These wires were typically used for trade execution. E.A. Pierce & Co. ( above ) merged with Merrill Lynch in 1940. The following year Fenner & Beane ( below ) was acquired by the firm Despite its strong position in the market, E.A. Pierce was struggling financially in the 1930s and was thinly capitalized. Following the death of Edmund C. Lynch in 1938, Winthrop Smith began discussions with Charles E. Merrill, who owned a minority interest in E.A. Pierce about a possible merger of the two firms. On April 1, 1940, Merrill Lynch, merged with Edward A. Pierce 's E.A. Pierce & Co. and Cassatt & Co., a Philadelphia - based brokerage firm in which both Merrill Lynch and E.A. Pierce held an interest. and was briefly known as Merrill Lynch, E.A. Pierce, and Cassatt. The company became the first on Wall Street to publish an annual fiscal report in 1941. Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith logo in use prior to the firm 's 1974 rebranding that introduced the `` bull '' logo The following year, in 1941, Merrill Lynch, E.A. Pierce and Cassatt merged with Fenner & Beane, a New Orleans - based investment bank and commodities company. Throughout the 1930s, Fenner & Beane was consistently the second largest securities firm in the U.S. The combined firm, which became the clear leader in securities brokerage in the U.S., was renamed Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Beane. In 1952, the company formed Merrill Lynch & Co. as a holding company and officially incorporated after nearly half a century as a partnership. On December 31, 1957, The New York Times referred to that name as `` a sonorous bit of Americana '' and said `` After sixteen years of popularizing ( it ), Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner, and Beane is going to change it -- and thereby honor the man who has been largely responsible for making the name of a brokerage house part of an American saga, '' Winthrop H. Smith, who had been running the company since 1940. The merger made the company the largest securities firm in the world, with offices in over 98 cities and membership on 28 exchanges. At the start of the firm 's fiscal year on March 1, 1958, the firm 's name became `` Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith '' and the company became a Big Board member of the New York Stock Exchange. In 1964, Merrill Lynch acquired C.J. Devine & Co., the leading dealer in U.S. Government Securities. The merger came together due to the death of Christopher J. Devine in May 1963. The C.J. Devine & Co. partners, referred to as `` The Devine Boys '', formed Merrill Lynch Government Securities Inc., giving the firm a strong presence in the government securities market. The Government Securities business brought Merrill Lynch the needed leverage to establish many of the unique money market products and government bond mutual fund products, responsible for much of the firm 's growth in the 1970s and 1980s. In 2003, Merrill Lynch became the second - largest shareholder for the Japanese animation studio TMS Entertainment. In a report to the Finance Ministry, the Merrill Lynch group said it had acquired a 7.54 percent stake in TMS by purchasing some 3.33 million shares. Merrill Lynch purchased the stake purely for investment purposes and had no intention of acquiring control of the firm 's management. Rise to prominence Merrill Lynch rose to prominence on the strength of its brokerage network ( 15,000 + as of 2006 ), sometimes referred to as the `` thundering herd '', that allowed it to place securities it underwrote directly. In contrast, many established Wall Street firms, such as Morgan Stanley, relied on groups of independent brokers for placement of the securities they underwrote. Until as late as 1970, it was known as the `` Catholic '' firm of Wall Street. The firm went public in 1971 and became a multinational corporation with over US $1.8 trillion in client assets, operating in more than 40 countries around the world. In 1977, the company introduced its Cash Management Account ( CMA ), which enabled customers to sweep all their cash into a money market mutual fund, and included check - writing capabilities and a credit card. Fortune magazine called it `` the most important financial innovation in years ''. In 1978, it significantly buttressed its securities underwriting business by acquiring White Weld & Co., a small but prestigious old - line investment bank. Merrill Lynch was well known for its Global Private Client services and its strong sales force. Orange county settlement Merrill Lynch settled with Orange County, California, for $400 million to settle accusations that it sold inappropriate and risky investments to former county treasurer Robert Citron. Citron lost $1.69 billion, which forced the county to file for bankruptcy in December 1994. The county sued a dozen or more securities companies, advisors and accountants, but Merrill settled without admitting liability in June 1998. The county was able to recover about $600 million in total, including the $400 million from Merrill. Subprime mortgage crisis Main article : 2007 subprime mortgage financial crisis In November 2007, Merrill Lynch announced it would write - down $8.4 billion in losses associated with the national housing crisis, and would remove E. Stanley O'Neal as its chief executive. O'Neal had earlier approached Wachovia bank for a merger, without prior Board approval, but the talks ended after O'Neal's dismissal. Merrill Lynch named John Thain as its new CEO that month. In his first days at work in December 2007, Thain made changes in Merrill Lynch 's top management, announcing that he would bring in former New York Stock Exchange ( NYSE ) colleagues such as Nelson Chai as CFO and Margaret D. Tutwiler as head of communications. Later that month, the firm announced it would sell its commercial finance business to General Electric, and would sell off major shares of its stock to Temasek Holdings, a Singapore government investment group, in an effort to raise capital. The deal raised over $6 billion. In July 2008, Thain announced $4.9 billion fourth quarter losses for the company from defaults and bad investments in the ongoing mortgage crisis. In one year between July 2007 and July 2008, Merrill Lynch lost $19.2 billion, or $52 million daily. The company 's stock price had also declined significantly during that time. Two weeks later, the company announced the sale of select hedge funds and securities in an effort to reduce their exposure to mortgage related investments. Temasek Holdings agreed to purchase the funds and increase its investment in the company by $3.4 billion. Andrew Cuomo, New York Attorney General, threatened to sue Merrill Lynch in August 2008 over its misrepresentation of the risk on mortgage - backed securities. A week earlier, Merrill Lynch had offered to buy back $12 billion in auction - rate debt and said it was surprised by the lawsuit. Three days later, the company froze hiring and revealed that it had charged almost $30 billion in losses to their subsidiary in the United Kingdom, exempting them from taxes in that country. On August 22, 2008, CEO John Thain announced an agreement with the Massachusetts Secretary of State to buy back all auction - rate securities from customers with less than $100 million in deposit with the firm, beginning in October 2008 and expanding in January 2009. On September 5, 2008 Goldman Sachs downgraded Merrill Lynch 's stock to `` conviction sell '' and warned of further losses at the company. Bloomberg reported in September 2008 that Merrill Lynch had lost $51.8 billion on mortgage - backed securities as part of the subprime mortgage crisis. CDO controversies Merrill Lynch, like many other banks, became heavily involved in the mortgage - based collateralized debt obligation ( CDO ) market in the early 2000s. According to an article in Credit magazine, Merrill 's rise to be the leader of the CDO market began in 2003 when Christopher Ricciardi brought his CDO team from Credit Suisse First Boston to Merrill. In 2005 Merrill took out advertisements in the back of Derivatives Week magazine, touting the fact that its Global Markets and Investing Group was the `` # 1 global underwriter of CDOs in 2004 ''. To provide a ready supply of mortgages for the CDOs, Merrill purchased First Franklin Financial Corp., one of the largest subprime lenders in the country, in December 2006. BusinessWeek would later describe how between 2006 and 2007, Merrill was `` lead underwriter '' on 136 CDOs worth $93 billion. By the end of 2007, the value of these CDOs was collapsing, but Merrill had held onto portions of them, creating billions of dollars in losses for the company. In mid-2008, Merrill sold a group of CDOs that had once been valued at $30.6 billion to Lone Star Funds for $1.7 billion in cash and a $5.1 billion loan. In April 2009, bond insurance company MBIA sued Merrill Lynch for fraud and five other violations. These were related to the credit default swap `` insurance '' contracts Merrill had bought from MBIA on four of Merrill 's mortgage - based collateralized debt obligations. These were the `` ML - Series '' CDOs, Broderick CDO 2, Highridge ABS CDO I, Broderick CDO 3, and Newbury Street CDO. MBIA claimed, among other things, that Merrill defrauded MBIA about the quality of these CDOs, and that it was using the complicated nature of these particular CDOs ( CDOs squared and cubed ) to hide the problems it knew about in the securities that the CDOs were based on. However, in 2010 Justice Bernard Fried disallowed all but one of the charges : the claim by MBIA that Merrill had committed breach of contract by promising the CDOs were worthy of an AAA rating when, it alleges, in reality they were n't. When the CDOs lost value, MBIA wound up owing Merrill a large amount of money. Merrill disputed MBIA 's claims. In 2009 Rabobank sued Merrill over a CDO named Norma. Rabobank later claimed that its case against Merrill was very similar to the SEC 's fraud charges against Goldman Sachs and its Abacaus CDOs. Rabobank alleged that a hedge fund named Magnetar Capital had chosen assets to go into Norma, and allegedly bet against them, but that Merrill had not informed Rabobank of this fact. Instead, Rabobank alleges that Merrill told it that NIR Group was selecting the assets. When the CDO value tanked, Rabobank was left owing Merrill a large amount of money. Merrill disputed the arguments of Rabobank, with a spokesman claiming `` The two matters are unrelated and the claims today are not only unfounded but were n't included in the Rabobank lawsuit filed nearly a year ago ''. Sale to Bank of America Main article : Bank of America Significant losses were attributed to the drop in value of its large and unhedged mortgage portfolio in the form of collateralized debt obligations. Trading partners ' loss of confidence in Merrill Lynch 's solvency and ability to refinance short - term debt ultimately led to its sale. During the week of September 8, 2008, Lehman Brothers came under severe liquidity pressures, with its survival in question. If Lehman Brothers failed, investors were afraid that the contagion could spread to the other surviving investment banks. ( Lehman Brothers filed bankruptcy on September 15, 2008, after government officials could not find a merger partner for it. ) On Sunday, September 14, 2008, Bank of America announced it was in talks to purchase Merrill Lynch for $38.25 billion in stock. The Wall Street Journal reported later that day that Merrill Lynch was sold to Bank of America for 0.8595 share of Bank of America common stock for each Merrill Lynch common share, or about US $50 billion or $29 per share. This price represented a 70.1 % premium over the September 12 closing price or a 38 % premium over Merrill 's book value of $21 a share, but that also meant a discount of 61 % from its September 2007 price. Congressional testimony by Bank of America CEO Kenneth Lewis, as well as internal emails released by the House Oversight Committee, indicate that the merger was transacted under pressure from federal officials, who said that they would otherwise seek the replacement of Bank of America 's management as a condition of any government assistance. In March 2009 it was reported that in 2008, Merrill Lynch received billions of dollars from its insurance arrangements with AIG, including $6.8 billion from funds provided by the United States taxpayers to bail out AIG. Regulatory actions Analyst research settlement In 2002, Merrill Lynch settled for a fine of $100 million for publishing misleading research. As part of the agreement with the New York attorney general and other state securities regulators, Merrill Lynch agreed to increase research disclosure and work to decouple research from investment banking. A well known analyst at Merrill Lynch named Henry Blodget wrote in company e-mails in which Blodget gave assessments about stocks which conflicted with what was publicly published by Merrill. In 2003, he was charged with civil securities fraud by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. He settled without admitting or denying the allegations and was subsequently barred from the securities industry for life. He paid a $2 million fine and $2 million disgorgement. The CEO at that time, David Komansky, said, `` I want... to publicly apologize to our clients, our shareholders, and our employees, '' for the company falling short of its professional standards in research. Enron / Merrill Lynch Nigerian Barge In 2004 convictions of Merrill executives marked the only instance in the Enron investigation where the government criminally charged any officials from the banks and securities firms that allegedly helped the energy giant execute its accounting fraud. The case revolved around a 1999 transaction involving Merrill, Enron and the sale of some electricity - producing barges off the coast of Nigeria. The charges alleged that the 1999 sale of an interest in Nigerian energy barges by an Enron entity to Merrill Lynch was a sham that allowed Enron to illegally book about $12 million in pretax profit, when in fact there was no real sale and no real profit. Four former Merrill top executives and two former midlevel Enron officials faced conspiracy and fraud charges. Merrill cut its own deal, firing bankers and agreeing to the outside oversight of its structured - finance transactions. It also settled civil fraud charges brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, without admitting or denying fault. Discrimination charges On June 26, 2007, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ( EEOC ) brought suit against Merrill Lynch, alleging the firm discriminated against Dr. Majid Borumand because of his Iranian nationality and Islamic religion, with `` reckless disregard '' for his protected civil rights. The EEOC lawsuit maintains that violations by members of the firm were intentional and committed with malice. In another case concerning mistreatment of another Iranian employee by Merrill Lynch on July 20, 2007, a NASD arbitration panel ordered Merrill Lynch to pay its former Iranian employee, Fariborz Zojaji, $1.6 million for firing him due to his Persian ethnicity. Merrill Lynch 's actions prompted reactions from both the National Iranian - American council, and the American - Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee. In its June 2008 issue, Diversity Inc. named Merrill Lynch one of the top 10 companies for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender employees, and the seventh - best top company in the US for diversity overall. In 2007, Merrill Lynch was named the second - best company in the US for people with disabilities by Diversity Magazine. As of June 5, 2008, Merrill Lynch has created the West Asian, Middle Eastern and North African ( WAMENA ) Professional Network to help support and provide additional resources for employees of diverse backgrounds. In May 2008, Merrill Lynch was named the No. 1 US company for `` Diverse College Graduates '' by Diversity Edge magazine, edging out Microsoft for the top spot on the rankings. New Jersey appeals court on August 13, 2008 rendered a ruling against Merrill Lynch in a discrimination lawsuit filed by a gay employee. Market timing settlement In 2002 Merrill Lynch settled for a $10 million civil penalty as a result of improper activities that took place out of the firm 's Fort Lee New Jersey office. Three financial advisors, and a fourth who was involved to a lesser degree, placed 12,457 trades for a client Millennium Partners in at least 521 mutual funds and 63 mutual fund sub-accounts of at least 40 variable annuities. Millennium made profits in over half of the funds and fund sub-accounts. In those funds where Millennium made profits, its gains totaled about $60 million. Merrill Lynch failed to reasonably supervise these financial advisers, whose market timing siphoned short - term profits out of mutual funds and harmed long - term investors. 2008 bonus payments Merrill Lynch arranged for payment of billions in bonuses for 2008 performance in what appeared to be `` special timing '', despite reported losses of $27 billion. These bonuses totaling $3.6 billion were one - third of the money they received from the feds ' TARP bailout. The Merrill bonuses were determined by Merrill 's Compensation Committee at its meeting of December 8, 2008, shortly after BOA shareholders approved the merger but before financial results for the fourth quarter had been determined. This appeared to be a departure from normal company practice, since the type of bonus Merrill awarded was a performance bonus that, according to company policy, was supposed to reflect all four quarters of performance and was paid in January or later. In this case, however, the bonuses were awarded in December before fourth - quarter performance had been determined. They were also very large relative to the TARP monies allocated to Merrill. The Merrill bonuses were the equivalent of 36.2 % of TARP monies Treasury allocated to Merrill. Merrill employees had to have a salary of at least $300,000 and have attained the title of Vice President or higher to be eligible. Industry awards Ranked No. 1 in Barron 's 2010 Top 1000 Advisors Ranked No. 1 in Barron 's 2010 list for most advisors with No. 1 ranking in their state Ranked No. 1 in Barron 's 2009 Top 1000 Advisors Ranked No. 1 in Barron 's 2009 list for most advisors with No. 1 ranking in their state Institutional Investor Ranked No. 3 in 2009 All - America Fixed - Income Research Team Survey Ranked No. 1 for Pan European coverage in the 2009 All - Europe Research team survey Ranked No. 3 in 2009 for Emerging EMEA coverage Ranked No. 3 in the 2009 All - Latin America survey and No. 2 in the All - Brazil survey Ranked No. 5 in the 2009 All - Asia Research team survey Ranked No. 3 in 2009 All - America Equity Research Team Survey Alpha Magazine -- Ranked No. 3 by hedge funds in survey for All - Asia research teams Forbes / Zacks -- Best Brokerage for stock picking and estimate accuracy ; captured more than twice the awards of the runner - up. Seven out of 12 analysts named to `` Dazzling Dozen '' Wall Street Journal `` Best on the Street Stock Picking '' Award -- No. 3 in the U.S. ; 17 ranked analysts Thomson Reuters Extel -- No. 1 for Pan-European Equity Sectors Rsch ; No. 2 for Pan-European Equity & Equity Linked Rsch ; No. 2 for Continental European Small & Mid Caps Rsch Financial Times / StarMine Ranked No. 1 Global Broker, No. 1 US Broker ; No. 2 Europe Broker and No. 5 Pan-Asia Broker ; received 42 individual analyst awards ( May 2009 ) Ranked No. 1 in the U.S., No. 2 in Latin America, No. 2 in Asia Pacific ex-Japan, No. 3 in Developed Europe in the 2009 for earnings forecasts ; Ranked No. 4 in Asia Pacific ex-Japan, and No. 5 in Latin America in the 2009 for Stock Recommendations At The Banker 's Investment Banking Awards, 2013, Bank of America Merrill Lynch won `` Most Innovative Investment Bank '' Organizational structure The organization structure of Merrill Lynch stemmed down from John Thain, the former Chairman, President, and CEO of the firm. Under his direct supervision are seven vital positions within the overall firm. Presidents, Vice Presidents, and Chairmen of the variety of sectors within Merrill Lynch, such as investment banking, typically occupy these positions. Below these upper management authorities are the lower management employers, who manage a further subdivision of a particular sector of Merrill Lynch. The lower management employers supervise the employees who specialize within a sector of the firm, for example, consultants ( `` Merrill Lynch & Co, Inc. '' ). Merrill Lynch as a subsidiary Merrill Lynch is a subsidiary company that is entirely owned by Bank of America ( `` Merrill Lynch '' ). Prior to the merger, Merrill Lynch issued debt instruments to a number of companies. However, once it became a fully owned entity under Bank of America, Bank of America did not assume the guarantees in debt offered by Merrill Lynch & Co. ( full name while independent firm ) ( `` Merrill Lynch '' ). Instead, as principal subsidiary, Merrill Lynch lends and borrows with Bank of America to provide a more centralized liquidity management ( `` Merrill Lynch '' ). Merrill Edge Merrill Edge is a discount brokerage service provided by Merrill Lynch. The online service was launched on 21 June 2010. The service was expected to compete with similar firms such as Charles Schwab Corporation and E * Trade. Before the launching of this service, Merrill Lynch worked with clients who had over $250,000 of liquid assets. This service was designed to allow a wider demographic to invest with Bank of America. According to the website, the service offers `` the investments insights of Merrill Lynch plus the convenience of Bank of America banking ''. Other competitors listed are Ameritrade and Fidelity Investments. See also Companies portal Broker - dealer Calibuso, et al. v. Bank of America Corp., et al. Comparison of online brokerages Credit crunch Global settlement Liquidity crisis Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc. v. Dabit, a 2006 Supreme Court case involving securities fraud claims. Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc. v. Manning, a 2016 Supreme Court case involving naked short selling claims. Merrill Lynch 's Application Primary dealers World Wealth Report References Jump up ^ `` Bank of America Corporation Annual Report 2012 '' ( PDF ). Bank of America Corporation. Retrieved 22 December 2013. Jump up ^ `` About Merrill Lynch ''. ML.com. Retrieved July 11, 2011. Jump up ^ Sep 2008, the same weekend that Lehman Brothers was allowed to fail. Jump up ^ Jan 2009 -- see Crash of the Titans by Greg Farrell Jump up ^ `` Bank of America Finishes Merger of Merrill Lynch Into Parent ''. Bloomberg. 21 January 2013. Retrieved 1 October 2013. Jump up ^ `` Bank of America Simplifies Corporate Structure ''. Bank of America Corporation. Retrieved 21 December 2013. Jump up ^ `` McCrory Stores Corporation, '' display advertisement, The New York Times, December 15, 1915, p. 18. In full : An Investment embracing safety, good income, and possibilities for considerable advancement in market value is presented in the Preferred Stock of the McCrory Stores Corporation. Price to yield 7 %. Write for Circular T.M. MERRILL, LYNCH & CO. 7 Wall Street, NEW YORK. Penobscot Bldg. DETROIT. Telephone Rector 4940. Jump up ^ `` Wire House ''. Time ( 1 ). February 4, 1935. Jump up ^ `` Bigger Biggest ''. Time. November 10, 1930. Jump up ^ Curious Services. Life. June 27, 1938. ^ Jump up to : David A. Heenan ; Warren Bennis ( 1999 ). Co-leaders : the power of great partnerships. John Wiley and Sons. Jump up ^ `` $15,000,000 Sought By Crucible Steel. '' The New York Times, December 19, 1940, p. 39, lists `` Merrill Lynch, E.A. 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Perkins ( 1999 ). Wall Street to Main Street : Charles Merrill and Middle - Class Investors. Cambridge University Press. Jump up ^ Ron Chernow ( 1990 ). The House of Morgan. Touchstone Books. Jump up ^ James B. Stewart, Den of Thieves, Touchstone Books, 1992. `` ( I ) n 1971, Wall Street was still split between the `` Jewish '' and the `` WASP '' firms. At an earlier time, when major corporations and banks had discriminated overtly against Jews, Wall Street had rewarded merit and enterprise. Firms like Goldman, Sachs, Lehman Brothers, and Kuhn, Loeb & Co. ( made up historically of Jews of German descent ) had joined the ranks of the most prestigious WASP firms : Morgan Stanley -- an outgrowth of J.P. Morgan 's financial empire -- First Boston, Dillon, Read, and Brown Brothers Harriman. Giant Merrill Lynch Pierce Fenner & Smith, something of an anomaly, had once been considered the `` Catholic '' firm. Kidder, Peabody remained firmly in the WASP camp. 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McCormick ( April 9, 2010 ). `` Update 1 - Judge dismisses most of MBIA 's suit vs Merrill ''. Reuters. Jump up ^ Eisinger, Jesse ; Bernstein, Jake ( April 9, 2010 ). `` A Lawsuit Suggests Merrill Lynch 's Role ''. ProPublica. Retrieved April 23, 2010. Jump up ^ Pickhardt, Jonathan ( April 16, 2010 ). `` Letter to Judge Bernard Fried, NY Supreme Court re : Rabobank and Merrill Lynch ''. ProPublica. Retrieved April 23, 2010. Jump up ^ Mollenkamp, Carrick & Ng, Serena ( December 27, 2007 ). `` Wall Street Wizardry Amplified Credit Crisis ''. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved April 23, 2010. Jump up ^ McQuillen, William ( April 16, 2010 ). `` Merrill Used Same Alleged Fraud as Goldman, Bank Says ''. Bloomberg. Retrieved 19 August 2014. Jump up ^ Morgenson, Gretchen ( November 8, 2008 ). `` The Reckoning : How the Thundering Herd Faltered and Fell ''. The New York Times. Retrieved November 13, 2008. Some banks were so concerned that they considered stopping trading with Merrill if Lehman went under, according to participants in the Federal Reserve 's weekend meetings on Sept. 13 and 14 ( 2008 ) Jump up ^ Paulden, Pierre ( August 26, 2008 ). `` Merrill, Wachovia Hit With Record Refinancing Bill ( Update1 ) ''. Bloomberg News. Retrieved November 12, 2008. In response to a slump in demand for their bonds, financial firms, which have incurred $504 billion of writedowns and credit losses since the start of 2007, are selling assets such as mortgage securities and collateralized debt obligations at fire - sale prices to pay down looming maturities Jump up ^ Andrew Ross Sorkin ( September 14, 2008 ). `` Bank of America in Talks to Buy Merrill Lynch ''. The New York Times. Jump up ^ Matthew Karnitschnig ; Carrick Mollenkamp ; Dan Fitzpatrick ( September 14, 2008 ). `` Bank of America Reaches Deal for Merrill ''. The Wall Street Journal. Jump up ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20080916074747/http://www.newsweek.com/id/159010. Archived from the original on September 16, 2008. Retrieved September 16, 2008. Missing or empty title = ( help ) Jump up ^ Rusli, Evelyn ( September 15, 2008 ). `` The Universal Appeal of BofA ''. Forbes. Jump up ^ LOUISE STORY & JO BECKER ( June 11, 2009 ). `` Bank Chief Tells of U.S. Pressure to Buy Merrill Lynch ''. The New York Times. Retrieved June 13, 2009. Jump up ^ Scott Lanman & Craig Torres ( June 10, 2009 ). `` Republican Staff Says Fed Overstepped on Merrill Deal ( Update1 ) ''. Bloomberg. Retrieved June 13, 2009. Jump up ^ Barbara Barrett ( June 10, 2009 ). `` BofA documents, e-mails show pressure to buy Merrill Lynch ''. The Miami Herald. Retrieved June 13, 2009. Jump up ^ Eamon Javers, `` AIG ships billions in bailout abroad '', Politico, March 15, 2009 Jump up ^ `` A.I.G. Lists Firms It Paid With Taxpayer Money ''. The New York Times. March 15, 2009. Jump up ^ `` Merrill to pay $125 million settlement to investors ''. Reuters. September 5, 2007. Jump up ^ Ackman, Dan ( September 20, 2004 ). `` Enron 's Nigeria Barge : The Real Deal ''. Forbes. Jump up ^ Associated, The. ( June 27, 2007 ) `` U.S. Sues Merrill on Treatment of Muslim ''. The New York Times. June 27, 2007. Retrieved July 11, 2011. Jump up ^ `` EEOC vs. Merrill Lynch $ Co. -- Complaint ) '' ( PDF ). The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved July 11, 2011. Jump up ^ `` Discrimination Ruling Another Black Eye for Merrill ''. EFinancialCareers. Archived from the original on July 10, 2011. Retrieved July 11, 2011. Jump up ^ `` Fired Iranian broker wins $1.6 M from Merrill ''. International Herald Tribune. March 29, 2009. Retrieved July 11, 2011. Jump up ^ `` Amended Award '' ( PDF ). The Wall Street Journal. July 20, 2007. Retrieved September 15, 2008. Jump up ^ `` EEOC : Merrill Lynch Hired Iranian for His Brains, Fired Him for His Nationality ''. NIA Council. July 4, 2007. Archived from the original on June 19, 2008. Retrieved September 15, 2008. Jump up ^ `` PPCo. Epubxpress ''. Diversityinc.com. Retrieved July 11, 2011. Jump up ^ `` The Diversity Edge Announces its 2008 Best Companies for Diverse Graduates ''. The Diversity Edge. May 29, 2008. Retrieved September 15, 2008. Jump up ^ `` Single Anti-Gay Remark Sufficient for Hostile Workplace Claim, N.J. Court Says ''. Law.com. August 15, 2008. Retrieved September 15, 2008. Jump up ^ `` Merrill Lynch to Pay $10 million in New Jersey Settlement ''. ConsumerAffairs.com. March 15, 2005. Archived from the original on June 14, 2011. Retrieved July 11, 2011. Jump up ^ Story, Louise ( February 12, 2009 ). `` Nearly 700 at Merrill in Million - Dollar Club ''. The New York Times. Retrieved March 27, 2010. Missing last1 = in Authors list ( help ) Jump up ^ Weiner, Rachel ( March 30, 2009 ). `` Merrill Lynch Bonuses 22 Times The Size Of AIG ''. Huffington Post. Retrieved July 11, 2011. ^ Jump up to : Mcgee, Suzanne ( February 22, 2010 ). `` The Best U.S. Financial Advisors ''. Barron 's. Retrieved July 11, 2011. Jump up ^ `` BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research Rankings ''. Ml.com. Archived from the original on July 13, 2011. Retrieved July 11, 2011. Jump up ^ The Banker 's Investment Banking Awards, 2013 -- the winners. The Banker. Retrieved on 2013 - 10 - 23. Jump up ^ `` Merrill Lynch & Co, Inc ''. Retrieved October 17, 2012. Jump up ^ EPLZzYhK. `` Merrill Lynch '' Check url = value ( help ). Retrieved October 19, 2012. ^ Jump up to : `` Equity Compensation Plan ''. Retrieved October 17, 2012. Jump up ^ `` Merrill Edge Official Website ''. Retrieved 16 March 2015. Jump up ^ `` Bank of America Launches New ' Merrill Edge ' Online Investing Tool ''. MyBankTracker. 2 May 2011. Retrieved 15 March 2015. Jump up ^ Veneziani, Vince ( 17 June 2010 ). `` Merrill Lynch Launching Online Discount Brokerage Next Monday ''. Business Insider. Retrieved 15 March 2015. Jump up ^ Southall, Brooke ( 20 June 2010 ). `` Why the launch of Merrill Edge may be a shrewder move by BoA than it first appears ''. RIA Biz. Retrieved 15 March 2015. Further reading Farrell, Greg ( 2010 ). Crash of the Titans : Greed, Hubris, the Fall of Merrill Lynch, and the Near - Collapse of Bank of America. New York : Crown Business. ISBN 978 - 0 - 307 - 71786 - 3. McLean, Bethany ; Nocera, Joe ( 2011 ). All the Devils Are Here All the Devils Are Here ( Version_2 ed. ). New York : Portfolio / Penguin. ISBN 978 - 1591843634. OCLC 711801567. Merrill Lynch ( March 3, 2008 ). `` Merrill Lynch Names Thomas J. Sanzone as Chief Administrative Officer '' ( Press release ). Business Wire. Perkins, Edwin ( 1999 ). Wall Street to Main Street : Charles Merrill and Middle - Class Investors. New York : Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978 - 0 - 521 - 63029 - 0. Stiles, Paul ( 1998 ). Riding the Bull : My Year in the Madness at Merrill Lynch. 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Question: when did bank of america buys merrill lynch
Answer: September 14, 2008