According to a NY Post story from earlier today, it appears the merger transition period of Bank of America (BAC) and Merrill Lynch (MER) may be running into some turbulence as some of the prized Merrill bankers may be scoffing at retention bonuses Bank of America is offering to keep them on board.
Some estimates are that 20-30 percent of the 16,800-strong brokerage force may decide to say goodbye, despite the fact that there may not be as many places that are financially able to pay them what they believe their book of business may be worth.
Merrill Lynch has had a long history of treating its brokers very well, earning the firm the name, "Mother Merrill". There may be a ''buyer's market'' for investment firms if the number of brokers thinking free agency decide to test the market in the same time period.
The Bottom Line
Mergers of investment banks tend to disappoint in the end as many of the ''star'' brokers control their own destine, thus the companies buying end up at the mercy of compensating these ''rock star'' brokers much more than they had anticipated.
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