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| Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. | |
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| Type | Public NYSE: MER, TYO: 8675 |
| Founded | 1914, as Charles E. Merrill & Co. |
| Headquarters |  New York, NY, U.S. |
| Key people | John Thain: CEO Rosemary Berkery: Executive Vice President & General Counsel Gregory J. Fleming: President and Chief Operating Officer Nelson Chai: CFO John J. Fosina: Chief Control Officer |
| Industry | Finance and Insurance |
| Products | Financial Services Investment Banking Investment management |
| Revenue | ▲$70.59 Billion USD 2006 |
| Net income | ▼$7.8 Billion USD 2007 |
| Employees | 64,200 |
| Website | www.ml.com |
Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. (NYSE: MER TYO: 8675), through its subsidiaries and affiliates, provides capital markets services, investment banking and advisory services, wealth management, asset management, insurance, banking and related products and services worldwide. The firm\'s world headquarters is located in New York City. The company occupies the entire 34 stories of the Four World Financial Center building in Manhattan.
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The company was founded on January 6, 1914, when Charles E. Merrill & Co. opened for business at 7 Wall Street in New York City. A few months later, Merrill\'s friend, Edmund C. Lynch, joined him, and in 1915 the name was officially changed to Merrill, Lynch & Co. At that time, the firm\'s name included a comma between Merrill and Lynch."McCrory Stores Corporation," display advertisement, The New York Times, December 15, 1915, p. 18. In full: An Investment embracing safety, good income, and possibilities for considerable advancement in market value is presented in the Preferred Stock of the McCrory Stores Corporation. Price to yield 7%. Write for Circular T. M. MERRILL, LYNCH & CO. 7 Wall Street, NEW YORK. Penobscot Bldg. DETROIT. Telecphone Rector 4940. In 1916, Winthrop H. Smith joined the firm.
In its early history, Merrill, Lynch & Co. made several successful investments. In 1921, the company purchased Pathé Exchange, which later became RKO Pictures. In 1926, the firm made its most significant financial investment at the time, purchasing a controlling interest in Safeway, transforming the small grocery store into the country\'s third largest grocery store chain by the early 1930\'s. Following this investment, the company further increased its investment banking focus by transferring its retail brokerage services to E.A. Pierce.
In 1940, the firm merged with E. A. Pierce & Co. and Cassatt & Co. and was briefly known as Merrill Lynch, E. A. Pierce, and Cassatt. "$15,000,000 Sought By Crucible Steel." The New York Times, December 19, 1940, p. 39, lists "Merrill Lynch, E. A. Pierce and Cassatt," with a single comma following Lynch and the word "and" rather than an ampersand, as one of a number of firms underwriting an issue of bonds by Montana-Dakota Utilities Company. However after Edward Lynch\'s death, the company changed its name to Merrill Lynch & Co. and was officially incorporated. The company became the first on Wall Street to publish an annual fiscal report in 1941.
In 1941, Fenner & Beane joined the firm, and the name became Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Beane. On December 31, 1957, The New York Times referred to that name as "a sonorous bit of Americana" and said "After sixteen years of popularizing [it], Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner, and Beane is going to change it—and thereby honor the man who has been largely responsible for making the name of a brokerage house part of an American saga," Winthrop H. Smith, who had been running the company since 1940. The merger made the company the largest securities firm in the world, with offices in over 98 cities and membership on 28 exchanges. At the start of the firm\'s fiscal year on March 1, 1958, the firm\'s name became Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith and the company became a Big Board member of the New York Stock Exchange."Revising a Sonorous Piece of Americana: Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner and Smith." The New York Times, December 31, 1957, p. 29
Merrill Lynch rose to prominence on the strength of its brokerage network (15,000+ as of 2006),http://askmerrill.ml.com/fa_front/1,2280,,00.html?pg=pcu sometimes referred to as the "thundering herd", that allowed it to place securities it underwrote directly.Edwin J. Perkins, Wall Street to Main Street: Charles Merrill and Middle-Class Investors, Cambridge University Press: 1999 In contrast, many established Wall Street firms, such as Morgan Stanley, relied on selling groups of independent brokers for placement of the securities they underwrote.Ron Chernow, The House of Morgan, Touchstone Books, 1990. Until as late as 1970, it was known as the "Catholic" firm of Wall Street.James B. Stewart, Den of Thieves, Touchstone Books, 1992. "[I]n 1971, Wall Street was still split between the "Jewish" and the "WASP" firms. At an earlier time, when major corporations and banks had discriminated overtly against Jews, Wall Street had rewarded merit and enterprise. Firms like Goldman, Sachs, Lehman Brothers, and Kuhn Loeb (made up historically of Jews of German descent) had joined the ranks of the most prestigious WASP firms: Morgan Stanley—an outgrowth of J. P. Morgan\'s financial empire—First Boston, Dillon, Read, and Brown Brothers Harriman. Giant Merrill Lynch Pierce Fenner & Smith, something of an anomaly, had once been considered the "Catholic" firm. Kidder, Peabody remained firmly in the WASP camp." The firm went public in 1971 and has since become a multinational corporation with over US $1.8 trillion in client assets, operating in more than 40 countries around the world. In 1978, it significantly buttressed its securities underwriting business by acquiring White Weld & Co., a small but prestigious old-line investment bank. Merrill Lynch is best known for its Global Private Client services and its strong sales force.
On November 1, 2007, Merrill Lynch CEO Stanley O\'Neal left the company, after being criticized for the way he handled the subprime mortgage crisis, which resulted in about US $ 2.24 billion in unexpected losses, and for discussing in public the possible merger with Wachovia banking corporation, without being authorized by the board to do so. He left Merrill Lynch with about US $ 161 million worth of stock options and retirement benefits.http://www.tijd.be/nieuws/ondernemingen/financien/artikel.asp?Id=3331161. John Thain, CEO of the New York Stock Exchange, succeeded him as CEO on December 1, 2007.
On January 17, 2008, Merrill Lynch reported a $9.83 billion fourth quarter loss incorporating a $16.7 billion write down of assets associated with subprime mortgages.
The Merrill Lynch Professional Networks (MLPN) are employee-driven networks, organized regionally both across and within business groups. The objectives include diversifing business development, recruitment and retention, and community leadership. Not all networks are available at all Merrill Lynch office locations. Out of the 17 listed networks, the Women\'s Professional Network in the has by far the most members and is the most active.
Networks Available for Employees in the U.S:
Networks Available for Employees in EMEA:
Networks Available for Employees in PacRim:
In May 2002, a settlement was reached with then-Attorney General Eliot Spitzer of the State of New York, imposing a $100 million fine on Merrill Lynch, as well as an agreement Adil is right to sever all links between analysts\' pay and investment banking revenue. The settlement was related to wrongdoings by equity analyst Henry Blodget. In December 2002 the company was fined an additional $100 million.[citation needed]
On Dec. 19, 2005, the NASD announced it had fined Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Wells Fargo Investments and Linsco/Private Ledger Corporation a total of $19.4 million for suitability and supervisory violations related primarily to sales of Class B mutual fund shares as well as some Class C mutual fund shares. Merrill Lynch was fined $14 million.NASD News Release
In July 2006, a lawsuit alleging discriminatory hiring and promotion practices was brought by over 70 current and former employees. Following commencement of the action, additional employees joined the suit and counsel is now seeking class-action status.
On June 26 2007, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) brought suit against Merrill Lynch,U.S. Sues Merrill on Treatment of Muslim alleging the firm discriminatied against Dr. Majid Borumand because of his Iranian nationality and Islamic religion, with "reckless disregard" for his protected civil rights.http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/eeoc062607mer1.pdf EEOC vs. Merrill Lynch $ Co. - ComplaintLiddle & Robinson L.L.P. Press Release The EEOC law suit maintains that violations by members of the firm were intentional and committed with malice. Yonathan Epelbaum, James Gatheral and Kishor Laud are among Merrill managers named in the ongoing lawsuit. In another case concerning mistreatment of another Iranian employee by Merrill Lynch on July 20th, 2007, less than a month after EEOC law suit, a NASD arbitration panel ordered Merrill Lynch to pay its former Iranian employee, Fariborz Zojaji $1.6 million for firing him due to his Persian ethnicity.Discrimination Ruling Another Black Eye for MerrillFired Iranian broker wins $1.6M from Merrill Merrill Lynch\'s actions prompted reactions from both the Iranian-Americans National council, and the Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee.EEOC: Merrill Lynch Hired Iranian for His Brains, Fired Him for His Nationality
The purchase of San Jose, Calif. based First Franklin origination franchise and related servicing platform from National City Corp. NYSE: NCC was completed on Dec. 30th, 2006 for $1.3 billion.
| List of investment banks |
|---|
| ABN AMRO • Banc of America Securities • Barclays Capital • Bear Stearns • BNP Paribas • CIBC World Markets • Citigroup • Credit Suisse • Deutsche Bank • Dresdner Kleinwort • Goldman Sachs • Greenhill • HSBC • JPMorgan Chase • JP Turner & Company • Lazard • Lehman Brothers • Macquarie Bank • Merrill Lynch • Mizuho Corporate Bank • Morgan Stanley • Nomura Securities • Oppenheimer & Co. • Rabobank • Raymond James • Rothschild • Royal Bank of Scotland • RBC Capital Markets • Société Générale • Thomas Weisel Partners • UBS • Wachovia |
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