Merrill Lynch is now the investment banking and wealth management arm of Bank of America (B of A). It was a publicly owned company before it was bought by B of A in 2009. What had been Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc suffered badly in the 2008 global financial crisis and had to be rescued. The company was founded on Wall Street, New York in 1914 by Charles E. Merrill and Edmund C. Lynch. They made many clever investments to build their reputation as investment bankers. It later expanded into financial services, insurance and investment management. Its 20,000 brokers were so powerful in global finance they became known as the “thundering herd” – a reference to the bull in its logo. The company has 60,000 employees. The ML.com website outlines the firm’s success: “Working with our clients as strategic partners, we create and execute winning solutions.”