Merrill/Bank of America: History lesson

Bank of America’s takeover of Merrill Lynch has not given shareholders, employees or US taxpayers much to cheer about. But history may offer some crumbs of comfort. That might sound odd while the investment bank is beset by merger tensions – heightened by pay and bonus disparities between the two firms – and defections by star talent with more to come. But previous messy mergers on Wall Street have managed to find their feet eventually. Take JPMorgan Chase and Credit Suisse. These two firms hav...