It recently came to light that two Merrill Lynch executives were fired and paid approximately $11 million in exchange for signing a non-compete and release agreements. Some were outraged about the payment considering the current plight of BofA and Merrill. But for most employers, a severance payment in exchange for a release makes good
Predictions about a slowdown in financial advisor recruiting appear to be premature. Last week, Wells Fargo, which purchased Wachovia, which purchased AG Edwards, announced it was looking to add 1400 financial advisors. It plans to recruit 400 new advisors and obtain the others from other firms. This comes on the heels of reports that BofA intends to add 2000
A couple of quick hits on issues previously addressed:
Arbitration
BofA is one of a number of banks to drop mandatory arbitration provisions in their agreements with credit card holders. It follows JP Morgan Chase which stopped referring credit card disputes to arbitration last month. The tide seems to be turning against arbitration in the
Despite indications that it would join The Broker Protocol last year when it acquired Merrill Lynch, BofA has yet do so. The Protocol, which has been frequently discussed in this blog, allows departing brokers/advisors leaving a firm to avoid claims for breach of non-compete or non-solicit agreements.
A Merrill Lynch spokesman has indicated that Merrill