Bounds of Bank of America and Merrill Lynch - Essay Example

The strategic acquisition of Merrill Lynch would also give the Bank a dominant position in the arena of wealth management as well as give it the largest retail brokerage. (www.uk.reuters.com) Top officials claimed that with the acquisition, the company would reach a position that it would ideally take ten years to reach.          One of the biggest roadblocks which Bank of America faced was that it bagged a huge amount of loss which Merrill Lynch had in its kitty. Apart from that while their retail brokerage would prove to be immensely profitable, the position could be a bit difficult where financial services companies were concerned. The acquisition was completed in the year 2009.                      The acquisition of both companies has led to several constructive results as their synergies come together. In 2010, the bank saw the highest revenues in comparison to any other investment bank in the areas of asset-backed securities and leveraged loans. Moreover, in an overall scenario, it was seen that the bank had the second-highest revenue too. The market share was namely 6.8 percent. However, it has been seen that Bank of America reported losses that were a result of the writing down of their mortgage business. On the other hand, the investment banking operations which included Merrill Lynch’s operations performed and had a quarterly profit of $724 billion. (www.cityam.com)   However apart from the mortgage business, the two banks are creating positive results for the company as a whole and in the long run would prove immensely profitable.    Read More