Bank of America drops Merrill Lynch brand from some businesses

Bank of America is phasing out the Merrill Lynch name from some of its businesses more than a decade after it purchased the firm for approximately US$50 million. Its investment banking division Bank of America Merrill Lynch will now be known as Bank of America Securities, representing the bank's institutional broker-dealer businesses including global markets, investment banking and capital markets. Merrill will serve as the sub brand for its investing and wealth management offerings, representing the continuum of capabilities across wealth management from self-directed to full-service advisory services. Merrill Edge Self-Directed, Merrill Guided Investing, Merrill Lynch Wealth Management and Merrill Private Wealth Management will transition to this sub-brand, Bank of America said. Meanwhile, Bank of America remains its enterprise brand, covering consumer and small business, private bank, as well as global commercial banking, global transaction services and business banking, among others. As part of this, its private banking division U.S. Trust will transition to the Bank of America brand as the Bank of America Private Bank. This latest move is part of the new brand positioning that the bank rolled out in November last year beginning with the introduction of the question "What would you like the power to do?", which reflects the impact clients and communities can have when they have the power to achieve their goals, and the company’s role as a partner invested in their success. The first phase of the brand positioning also came with a new corporate logo, marking the first update to its Flagscape logo in two decades. The second phase was launched early this month through a series of local print ads in the bank's 92 consolidated US markets. The ads feature the Bank of America president in each market asking “What would you like the power to do?” and demonstrate how the bank serves employees, clients, and the community. New advertising supporting the brand positioning and brand campaign will continue to roll out over time. CEO Brian Moynihan said the bank is committed to living its purpose and driving responsible growth on a unified basis for all consumers it serves. “We are taking these next steps in the way our brand is seen over the coming weeks and months to better reflect this," Moynihan said.