Merrill In Merger Talks With Bank of America as Lehman may fall into bankruptcy [View All]

[EV_Ares]

NEW YORK - Bank of America has pulled out of negotiations to buy Lehman Brothers and has set its sights on Merrill Lynch & Co, Inc. , CNBC has learned.

The merger talks come amid a Wall Street scramble to sort out a potential liquidation of Lehman Bank of America, along with Barclays PLC, had considered buying Lehman, but when those talks failed, Barclays walked away and Bank of America turned its attention to Merrill.

Sources told CNBC that Federal Reserve officials are pressuring Bank of America to do a Merril deal. Merrill is considered the firewall of Wall Street now that most are concluding that Lehman will fall into bankruptcy.

Merrill's merging with a well-capitalized bank like Bank of America could prevent a broader fallout because most executives feel that Merrill's shares would have tanked after Lehman's decline. It is widely believed that would create a massive fallout int he overall market.

rest of the article @ link: http://www.cnbc.com/id/26680284