What Is Merrill Lynch & Co.? Merrill Lynch & Co. is the former name of a prominent Wall Street investment firm. Since its acquisition by Bank of America (BAC) in 2009, it has become known simply as “Merrill” and operates as a wealth management division of Bank of America.

As 2007 slipped into 2008 and the mortgage mess steered the country into the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, Merrill Lynch's situation worsened. Within a year of the date that first loss was reported by O'Neal, the firm would go on to write off a total of some $42 billion in subprime mortgage bonds.

Lewis wanted to buy the company because of Merrill Lynch's strongest unit, its 16,000 investment advisors, which would fill a hole in Bank of America's product offering. The entire transaction took place in the panic when Lehman Brothers was about to declare bankruptcy.

Headquarters are in New York City. In 1914 Charles E. Merrill, a bond dealer, founded a small investment-banking firm and the next year took on a partner, Edmund C. Lynch.

Advisors with Merrill Lynch Wealth Management have received numerous awards for their performance and service in recent years. It placed over 600 advisors on the Forbes list of Best In-State Advisors for 2018, more than any other company.

1915: The firm changes its name to Merrill, Lynch & Co. An associate notices a difference between the partners: “Merrill could imagine the possibilities; Lynch imagined what might go wrong in a malevolent world.” 1938: Edmund Lynch dies. Merrill Lynch drops the comma from its name.

These allegations include excessive trading, unauthorized trading, overcharging commissions, failure to supervise and breach of fiduciary duty. The arbitration documents show that initially, Merrill Lynch argued that Levine was a sophisticated investor who approved every trade.

The catalysts for the GFC were falling US house prices and a rising number of borrowers unable to repay their loans. House prices in the United States peaked around mid 2006, coinciding with a rapidly rising supply of newly built houses in some areas.

Bank of America acquired Merrill Lynch a decade ago in the heat of the financial crisis. Its investment bank and trading operations will now be known as BofA Securities, while its private bank to the ultra wealthy will drop the U.S. Trust brand.

While questionable mortgages made to risky borrowers prompted the credit crisis, regulators and investors who continue to pick through the wreckage are finding that exotic products known as derivatives - like those that Merrill used - transformed a financial brush fire into a conflagration.

The rebranding marks BofA's biggest step away from the legendary 105-year-old firm known for its “thundering herd” of brokers since the two companies unexpectedly merged in 2009 during the throes of the financial crisis. BofA wants “growth on a unified basis,” Moynihan said in a statement Monday.

Merrill Lynch is one of the largest wealth management firms in the world, with thousands of advisors.