Merrill Lynch CEO to oversee combined banking, brokerage and WM businesses. Bank of America says that Merrill Lynch's chairman and CEO John Thain will become president of its banking, brokerage and wealth-management businesses when its acquisition of Merrill is completed early in 2009.

Thain's "experience and expertise will be invaluable as we put our two companies together and move forward as the premier financial services company in the world," says Bank of America's CEO Ken Lewis.

Charlotte, N.C.-based Bank of America agreed to pay $50 billion for New York-based Merrill about half a month ago. The merger stands to create a retail-brokerage business with more than 20,000 advisors and $2.5 trillion in assets under management, and an investment-management line with about $1.2 trillion under management.

Sic transit

The companies announced their impending union within a day of Lehman Brothers' collapse into bankruptcy, and less than 10 days after the U.S. federal government took over mortgage-market makers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. At the same time AIG -- since saved from its fate by the government -- was tipping into ruin, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs appeared to be on the brink and stock-market investors were in a panic.

Thain was initially hailed as a genius for steering Merrill out of a Wall Street hurricane into the comparatively safe haven of a big, deposit-rich retail bank.

Though things haven't settled down since Bank of America and Merrill said they would merge, a plan put forward days later by U.S. Treasury secretary Hank Paulson to pour $700 billion (or more; let's not kid ourselves) into relieving financial institutions of bad assets -- since rejected by the House of Representatives, OKed by the Senate -- has made it look to some as though Thain jumped the gun.

Moynihan and McGann

In another indication of the post-merger shape of Bank of America, Brian Moynihan will lead its global operations and its private-equity business as a report to Lewis. Until the merger goes through, however, he'll continue as head of corporate and investment banking at Bank of America -- and, with Merrill's chief administrative officer Tom Sanzone, he'll spearhead the firms' integration.

"Our company will look quite different after the merger," says Lewis. "I have asked Brian to lead an effort that will re-define our business model, taking into account the strengths of both predecessor companies and our extensive opportunities around the world."

Bank of America made no mention of Robert McCann, head of Merrill's Global Wealth Management (GWM) division in its announcement of Thain's post-merger role, but he's thought likely to lead the combined firm's wealth-management businesses, spanning Merrill's GWM, San Francisco-based First Republic and Bank of America's U.S. Trust. -FWR

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