Bank of America Merrill Lynch Announces Next Generation Trading Platform With Launch of BofAML Express

NEW YORK--()--Bank of America Merrill Lynch today unveiled BofAML Express, the firm’s next generation ultra low-latency market access and risk control platform for U.S. equities. The platform delivers sub 10-microseconds of wire-to-wire latency and provides an embedded series of risk controls required by recent SEC regulation.

"In this highly competitive environment, having the premiere trading platform is imperative as the market adapts to new regulation,” said Michael Lynch, head of Americas execution services. “While we’ve deployed pre-trade risk checks for some time now, BofAML Express gives our clients an edge by compressing latency to levels unimaginable just a short time ago without compromising any controls. Since its production debut, we’ve seen rapid client adoption and increasing volumes demonstrating the continued client demand for high performance trading platforms.”

The platform, initially developed by Thesys Technologies, currently connects to all major U.S. equity exchanges. Additionally, the parties have entered into a strategic arrangement to leverage the core technology offering for other electronic trading opportunities across asset classes and markets spanning Europe and Asia.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch is a leading global provider of equity, options and futures trading, sales and research services to mutual funds, hedge funds, broker-dealers, pensions, endowments and other institutions. A 2011 Greenwich Associates survey ranked BofA Merrill a top-three U.S. equity electronic trading provider, No. 1 broker for U.S. equity sales quality and among the top three in U.S. equity trading vote share, which measures the banks’ relative importance to buy-side institutions. Its award-winning algorithmic trading platform was ranked as one of the top three Pan-European brokerage firms for electronic trading algorithmic quality in the 2011 Thomson Reuters’ Extel Pan-European Survey and one of the top three providers of algorithmic trading in The Trade’s 2010 Algorithmic Trading Awards.

Bank of America

Bank of America is one of the world's largest financial institutions, serving individual consumers, small- and middle-market businesses and large corporations with a full range of banking, investing, asset management and other financial and risk management products and services. The company provides unmatched convenience in the United States, serving approximately 58 million consumer and small business relationships with approximately 5,700 retail banking offices and approximately 17,800 ATMs and award-winning online banking with 30 million active users. Bank of America is among the world's leading wealth management companies and is a global leader in corporate and investment banking and trading across a broad range of asset classes, serving corporations, governments, institutions and individuals around the world. Bank of America offers industry-leading support to approximately 4 million small business owners through a suite of innovative, easy-to-use online products and services. The company serves clients through operations in more than 40 countries. Bank of America Corporation stock (NYSE: BAC) is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch is the marketing name for the global banking and global markets businesses of Bank of America Corporation. Lending, derivatives, and other commercial banking activities are performed globally by banking affiliates of Bank of America Corporation, including Bank of America, N.A., member FDIC. Securities, strategic advisory, and other investment banking activities are performed globally by investment banking affiliates of Bank of America Corporation (“Investment Banking Affiliates”), including, in the United States, Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, and Merrill Lynch Professional Clearing Corp, which are registered broker-dealer and members of FINRA and SIPC, and, in other jurisdictions, locally registered entities. Investment products offered by Investment Banking Affiliates: Are Not FDIC Insured * May Lose Value * Are Not Bank Guaranteed.

Copyright 2011 Bank of America Corporation. All rights reserved. Bank of America, Merrill Lynch, BofAML Express and their logos are trademarks of Bank of America Corporation and/or its affiliates.

www.bankofamerica.com

Contacts

Reporters May Contact:
Kerrie McHugh, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, 1.646.855.3375
kerrie.mchugh@bankofamerica.com

Contacts

Reporters May Contact:
Kerrie McHugh, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, 1.646.855.3375
kerrie.mchugh@bankofamerica.com