March 6 (Bloomberg) -- 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 today. The bank said it’s working with the authorities to investigate 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 today. The losses did not “spill into plain view” until after Bank of America investors had approved the takeover in December and Merrill Lynch disbursed $3.6 billion in bonuses to bankers, the newspaper said.
“Senior managers of the business are focused on the issue and believe the risks surrounding possible losses are under control,” Merrill said in the statement.
Three weeks ago, risk officers discovered that a London currency trader who had recorded a trading profit of $120 million for the fourth quarter may instead have lost a large amount, the New York Times said, citing an unidentified Bank of America executive.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aGbSx7rY_DYU&refer=home
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