Bank of America Completes Merrill Lynch Purchase

Bank of America Corporation Thursday completed its purchase of Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. creating a premier financial services franchise with significantly enhanced wealth management, investment banking and international capabilities.

"We created this new organization because we believe that wealth management and corporate and investment banking represent significant growth opportunities, especially when combined with our leading capabilities in consumer and commercial banking," said Bank of America Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Ken Lewis. "We are now uniquely positioned to win market share and expand our leadership position in markets around the world."

Bank of America will have the largest wealth management business in the world with approximately 20,000 financial advisors and more than $2 trillion in client assets. Global investment management capabilities will include approximately 50 percent ownership in BlackRock Inc., which at September 30 had $1.26 trillion in assets under management. Bank of America had $564 billion in assets under management in the same period.

The combination also adds strengths in debt and equity underwriting, sales and trading, and merger and acquisition advice, creating significant opportunities to deepen relationships with corporate and institutional clients around the globe.

Under terms of the agreement, shareholders of Merrill Lynch received .8595 shares of Bank of America common stock for each common share of Merrill Lynch.

As previously announced, Bank of America expects to achieve $7 billion in pre-tax expense savings, fully realized by 2012. Cost reductions will come from a range of sources, including the elimination of positions announced on December 11, and the reduction of overlapping technology, vendor and marketing expenses. In addition, the company is expected to benefit by leveraging its broad product set to deepen relationships with existing Merrill Lynch customers.

Bank of America
Bank of America is one of the world’s largest financial institutions, serving individual consumers, small and middle market businesses and large corporations with a full range of banking, investing, asset management and other financial and risk-management products and services. The company provides unmatched convenience in the United States, serving more than 59 million consumer and small business relationships with more than 6,100 retail banking offices, more than 18,000 ATMs and award-winning online banking with more than 25 million active users. Bank of America offers industry leading support to more than 4 million small business owners through a suite of innovative, easy-to-use online products and services. The company serves clients in more than 150 countries and has relationships with 99 percent of the U.S. Fortune 500 companies and 83 percent of the Fortune Global 500. Bank of America Corporation stock is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.