Merrill purchase could mean big changes in Boston
Bank of America Corp.’s planned purchase of Merrill Lynch & Co. could mean big changes for their Boston operations, where both companies serve wealthy clients.
Of the two companies, Bank of America has the bigger presence here in its Global Wealth and Investment Management unit, which includes businesses such as its US Trust private-banking operation and its Columbia Management investment division.
But both overlap somewhat with Merrill Lynch operations, including its First Republic private-banking unit, which could lead to layoffs.
Headquartered in San Francisco, First Republic has been in the midst of an expansion in Boston such as a banking center it is building in the Mandarin Oriental hotel. The center will give Merrill about 50 employees in Boston at First Republic alone, plus a number of more traditional brokerage offices here.
Based in Charlotte, N.C., Bank of America has about 14,000 employees in its Global Wealth division, but won’t say how many work in Boston under the head of the unit, Keith Banks.
Since yesterday, neither side of the deal has provided details about their intentions toward the Boston operations or the banks’ role going forward.
On a conference call with analysts this morning, Bank of America chief executive Kenneth D. Lewis (right) said specific decisions about the combined firms’ management teams are under development.
Bank of America’s chief financial officer Joe Price said there would be headcount reductions and mentioned back-office operations and optimizing real estate, but didn’t give more details.
Combined the two companies will have about 20,000 financial advisers, mostly from Merrill Lynch, which will fit Bank of America’s long-term goals for serving wealthier customers.
“We will finally have enough financial advisers to take advantage of that opportunity,’’ Lewis said.
Bank of America also will have Merrill’s 50 percent stake in investment firm BlackRock, with $1.4 trillion in assets under management, in addition to $425 billion in assets under management at Columbia Funds.
(By Ross Kerber, Globe staff. File photo: Victoria Arocho/AP)
