Merrill lynch stock market
It clawed its way to the top and revolutionized the stock market by bringing Wall Street to Main Street. But in September — at the height of the financial crisis, it ceased to exist as a separate entity when it was acquired by Bank of America.
In his meticulously researched new book, Crash of the Titans: Greed, Hubris, The Fall of Merrill Lynch and the Near-Collapse of Bank of America , Greg Farrell reveals it all in never before reported detail.
In this guest author blog Farrell shares how his book came to be and if you continue on, you can read an excerpt from Crash of the Titans. Guest Author Blog from Greg Farrell, author of Crash of the Titans: Greed, Hubris, The Fall of Merrill Lynch and the Near-Collapse of Bank of America. The theme of the article was that Thain, by agreeing to sell Merrill, had made the right move over the tumultuous weekend of September , where Lehman Brothers CEO Dick Fuld had erred by stubbornly hanging on too long, to the point where Lehman collapsed in bankruptcy.
Over the course of several weeks, Henny and I discovered that the Thain story was more interesting than what was generally known. When Thain was fired in late January, the story took on an entirely new trajectory. The deeper I dug into the story of how Merrill Lynch imploded, the more I was struck by how sad a saga it was. But by the dawn of the 21st century, Merrill had begun to change.
Instead of being a financial advisory business, which brought Wall Street to Main Street, it eventually morphed into a Wall Street investment bank, with management pursuing outsized profits in its sales and trading business. Excerpted from Crash of the Titans: Greed, Hubris, the Fall of Merrill Lynch, and the Near-Collapse of Bank of America. Copyright by Greg Farrell. Reprinted by Permission of Crown Business, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc.
Merrill Lynch and Bank of America were, in many ways, the odd couple of American finance. Merrill was seen as epitomizing Wall Street excess, especially those stratospheric bonuses.
New York bankers, on the other hand, saw the Charlotte-based B of A as a tribe of small-time hillbillies. Once the acquistion went through these mutual suspicions metasticized in countless ways, perhaps none more tellingly than the verbal combat between lawyers Pete Kelly of Merrill and Tim Mayopoulos of B of A. PETE KELLY ARRIVED IN Charlotte from New York early the next morning. He reported to his new boss, Tim Mayopoulos, to learn more about what was expected of him.
Kelly was going to become general counsel to the investment banking unit of Bank of America—Merrill Lynch. Bill Caccamise, a BofA veteran who had been tapped for that job, would become chief counsel of the Merrill Lynch private client business. Kelly was among the few Merrill Lynch lawyers who had been offered a position in the new organization, but it was only because John Thain and Greg Fleming had fought hard on his behalf that his appointment had been approved by Alphin and HR.
The Kelly decision embarrassed Mayopoulos, since he had to move Caccamise out of a position that had already been promised to him. In recent weeks, Kelly had sensed some reluctance on the part of Mayopoulos to have him on his team.
Now, alone with his new boss, Kelly watched that reluctance burst forth in a spasm of contempt. I know more about investment banking than you do. He would dare Mayopoulos to fire him rather than conform to whatever management system they tried to cram down his throat. Now it was three against one, but the tone of the meeting turned more professional. They had come to an impasse, and Kelly felt Mayopoulos may have reached the breaking point with him.
Mayopoulos was adamant as he left the conference room.
Lehman Files for Bankruptcy; Merrill Is Sold - The New York Times
He strode down the hall toward his office and entered. When he saw Brinkley, his boss, he greeted her.
Merrill Lynch - Wikipedia
Brian Moynihan is going to become the new general counsel. Kelly looked at Caccamise.
State Selector
But Caccamise said nothing. After about fifteen minutes, the same woman returned. On the way up the stairs, Kelly figured out how it would go down: The two men arrived at a small conference room to find Brian Moynihan sitting there, immersed in paperwork.
Kelly had met Moynihan several times through the transition process. Forget what Tim said. Kelly and Caccamise left the office.
Kelly went straight to the airport, where he called Fleming. We have to get out of here. I met with Mayopoulos this morning and in the middle of the meeting, they took him out. Email me at bullishonbooks cnbc. Asia Europe Stocks Commodities Currencies Bonds Funds ETFs Investing Trading Nation Trader Talk Financial Advisors Personal Finance Etf Street Portfolio Watchlist Stock Screener Fund Screener Tech Mobile Social Media Enterprise Gaming Cybersecurity Tech Guide Make It Entrepreneurs Leadership Careers Money Specials Shows Video Top Video Latest Video U.
Video Asia Video Europe Video CEO Interviews Analyst Interviews Full Episodes Shows Watch Live CNBC U. Business Day CNBC U. Primetime CNBC Asia-Pacific CNBC Europe CNBC World Full Episodes. Log In Register Log Out News Economy Finance Health Care Real Estate Wealth Autos Consumer Earnings Energy Life Media Politics Retail Commentary Special Reports Asia Europe CFO Council.
Asia Europe Stocks Commodities Currencies Bonds Funds ETFs.
Merrill Lynch & Co.
Make It Entrepreneurs Leadership Careers Money Specials Shows Investing Trading Nation Trader Talk Financial Advisors Personal Finance Etf Street Portfolio Watchlist Stock Screener Fund Screener. Tech Mobile Social Media Enterprise Gaming Cybersecurity Tech Guide Video Top Video Latest Video U.
Video Asia Video Europe Video CEO Interviews Analyst Interviews Full Episodes. Primetime CNBC Asia-Pacific CNBC Europe CNBC World Special Reports Top States Paris Airshow Trailblazers Trading the World CNBC Disruptor 50 Lasting Legacy Modern Medicine College Game Plan Investing in: Israel Tech Drivers The Brave Ones Trading Nation Shaping the future Future Opportunities. Register Log In Profile Email Preferences PRO Sign Out. BEYOND THE "SHAMING OF JOHN THAIN" Guest Author Blog from Greg Farrell, author of Crash of the Titans: Gloria McDonough-Taub Senior Editor.