Merrill review spots trading 'irregularity'

LONDON: Merrill Lynch & Co, the securities firm acquired by Bank of America Corp, said it uncovered an ���irregularity��� during a review of its trading operations.

The bank informed regulators immediately of the discrepancy in ���certain trading positions���, Merrill Lynch said in a statement from London. The bank said it���s working with the authorities to investigate further. A spokeswoman for the bank declined to comment further.

Merrill Lynch may have lost hundreds of millions of dollars on currency trading and credit derivatives last year, the New York Times reported earlier on Thursday.

The losses did not ���spill into plain view��� until after Bank of America investors had approved the $33 billion takeover in December and Merrill Lynch disbursed $3.6 billion in bonuses to bankers, the newspaper said. Bank of America later sought additional government funding. ���Senior managers of the business are focused on the issue and believe the risks surrounding possible losses are under control,��� Merrill Lynch said in the statement.

Bank of America Chief Executive Officer Kenneth Lewis is trying to rein in Merrill���s traders after their losses brought the bank to the brink of collapse, the New York Times said.

���It was always going to be extremely difficult to integrate a retail bank like Bank of America with an investment bank like Merrill because the cultures are so different,��� said Richard Staite, an analyst at Atlantic Equities LLP in London. He has an ���underweight��� rating on Bank of America���s shares.