Bank of America Merrill Lynch

Last updated
BofA Securities
Division
Industry Financial services
FoundedJanuary 1, 2009
Headquarters Bank of America Tower
New York City, New York, U.S.
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Brian T Moynihan (CEO)
Thomas K. Montag (COO)
Products Investment banking
Parent Bank of America
Website Bank of America Merrill Lynch

BofA Securities [1] previouslyBank of America Merrill Lynch (BAML) is an American multinational investment bank division under the auspices of Bank of America. Not to be confused with Merrill, the wealth management division of Bank of America, both firms are broker-dealers and engage in prime brokerage.

An investment bank is a financial services company or corporate division that engages in advisory-based financial transactions on behalf of individuals, corporations, and governments. Traditionally associated with corporate finance, such a bank might assist in raising financial capital by underwriting or acting as the client's agent in the issuance of securities. An investment bank may also assist companies involved in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and provide ancillary services such as market making, trading of derivatives and equity securities, and FICC services. Most investment banks maintain prime brokerage and asset management departments in conjunction with their investment research businesses. As an industry, it is broken up into the Bulge Bracket, Middle Market, and boutique market.

Bank of America American multinational banking and financial services corporation

The Bank of America Corporation is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company based in Charlotte, North Carolina with central hubs in New York City, London, Hong Kong, Minneapolis, and Toronto. Bank of America was formed through NationsBank's acquisition of BankAmerica in 1998. It is the second largest banking institution in the United States, after JP Morgan Chase. As a part of the Big Four, it services approximately 10.73% of all American bank deposits, in direct competition with Citigroup, Wells Fargo, and JPMorgan Chase. Its primary financial services revolve around commercial banking, wealth management, and investment banking.

Merrill, previously Merrill Lynch, is an American investing and wealth management division under the auspices of Bank of America. Along with BofA Securities, 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 employs over 15,000 financial advisors and manages $2.2 trillion in client assets.

Contents

It provides services in mergers and acquisitions, equity and debt capital markets, lending, trading, risk management, research, and liquidity and payments management. It was formed through the combination of the corporate and investment banking activities of Bank of America and Merrill Lynch following the acquisition of the latter by the former in January 2009.

Stock financial instrument

The stock of a corporation is all of the shares into which ownership of the corporation is divided. In American English, the shares are commonly called as stocks. A single share of the stock represents fractional ownership of the corporation in proportion to the total number of shares. This typically entitles the stockholder to that fraction of the company's earnings, proceeds from liquidation of assets, or voting power, often dividing these up in proportion to the amount of money each stockholder has invested. Not all stock is necessarily equal, as certain classes of stock may be issued for example without voting rights, with enhanced voting rights, or with a certain priority to receive profits or liquidation proceeds before or after other classes of shareholders.

Bond (finance) instrument of indebtedness

In finance, a bond is an instrument of indebtedness of the bond issuer to the holders. The most common types of bonds include municipal bonds and corporate bonds.

Market research is an organized effort to gather information about target markets or customers. It is a very important component of business strategy. The term is commonly interchanged with marketing research; however, expert practitioners may wish to draw a distinction, in that marketing research is concerned specifically about marketing processes, while market research is concerned specifically with markets.

History

Bank of America completed the acquisition of Merrill Lynch & Co on 1 January 2009. [2] Bank of America began rebranding all of its corporate and investment banking activities under the Bank of America Merrill Lynch name in September 2009. [3]

In April 2011, Bank of America Merrill Lynch integrated its corporate and investment banking operations into a single division. [4]

In October 2013, Bank of America Merrill Lynch was recognised as the Most Innovative Investment Bank of the Year [5] in The Banker's Investment Banking Awards. [6]

<i>The Banker</i> English-language monthly international financial affairs publication owned by The Financial Times Ltd

The Banker is an English-language monthly international financial affairs publication owned by The Financial Times Ltd. and edited in London, United Kingdom. The magazine was first published in January 1926 through founding Editor, Brendan Bracken of the Financial News, who went on to become the chairman of the Financial Times from 1945-1958.

In February 2019, Bank of America announced a rebrand of its investment banking division to "BofA Securities." [7]

Operations

Bank of America Tower located on Laura Street in Jacksonville's financial district LaurastBOAT.jpg
Bank of America Tower located on Laura Street in Jacksonville's financial district

Bank of America Merrill Lynch is organized within four geographic divisions:

Market share

Bank of America Merrill Lynch achieved the second-highest revenues of any investment bank worldwide in 2010, with a global market share of 6.8 per cent. [10] In that year it achieved the highest revenues of any investment bank worldwide in both leveraged loans and asset-backed securities. [10]

In 2011, Bank of America Merrill Lynch again achieved the second-highest revenues of any investment bank worldwide (after J.P. Morgan & Co.), with a global market share of 7.4 per cent. [11]

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Merrill Lynch & Co.

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References

  1. Ensign, Rachel Louise (2019-02-25). "Bank of America to Drop Merrill Lynch Name From Some Businesses". Wall Street Journal. ISSN   0099-9660 . Retrieved 2019-02-25.
  2. "Bank of America completes Merrill Lynch purchase". Reuters. 1 January 2009. Retrieved 21 January 2011.
  3. "Bank of America Rebrands Offices in New York, London Towers". Bloomberg. 3 September 2009. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
  4. "BofA combines investment bank divisions". Reuters. 19 April 2011. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
  5. "BofA Merrill Receives The Banker Magazine's Top Global Award". Bank of America Merrill Lynch. 7 October 2013. Retrieved 28 October 2013.
  6. "The Banker's Investment Banking Awards, 2013 – the winners". The Banker. 3 October 2013. Retrieved 28 October 2013.
  7. Moyer, Robert Frank, Liz (2019-02-25). "Bank of America to drop Merrill Lynch name and rebrand wealth unit as just 'Merrill'". www.cnbc.com. Retrieved 2019-02-25.
  8. "Corporate and Institutional". Bank of America. Archived from the original on 29 January 2011. Retrieved 21 January 2011.
  9. Basch, Mark (December 28, 2017). "Florida's Banking Center". floridatrends.com. Florida Trends. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  10. 1 2 "Bank of America Reports Fourth-Quarter Loss". Here Is The City News. 21 January 2011. Retrieved 21 January 2011.
  11. "JPMorgan Chase Tops Dealogic's 2011 Investment Banks Ranking". Here Is The City News. 20 December 2011. Retrieved 11 May 2012.