Merrill Lynch: The secret of Salt Lake City

Once branded the internet dullard, Merrill Lynch is on the offensive. More than a decade after the brokerage firm bought a bank in Utah, it’s launching a nationwide retail banking operation, based on the internet, and paying money-market rates on insured deposits. That, and its plans for a banking and investment-services joint-venture with HSBC, may take its head off the merger block. Antony Currie reports

saltlake
John Bond (left) and Dave Komansky: aiming to go on-line to serve the “mass affluent”

Listening to Dave Komansky speak was a little distracting. Each time the CEO of Merrill Lynch pronounced the initials “HSBC” it was as if Benny, a character from the old US cartoon series Top Cat had jumped into his larynx. “Okay TC” was Benny’s catchphrase – laced with the accent of the Bronx where Komansky grew up – whenever he agreed, as he usually did, with his feline boss.

Access intelligence that drives action

To unlock this research, enter your email to log in or enquire about access