Merrill admits losses of $5.5bn on bad loans

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"Bank admits it handled credit crisis badly
· Significant job cuts 'not contemplated'

The investment bank Merrill Lynch emerged as one of the worst-hit victims from the summer's credit meltdown yesterday as it revealed that losses of $5.5bn (£2.69) on mortgages and bad loans would push it into the red for the first time in six years.

In a profit warning, Merrill disclosed that it expected to make a loss of 50 cents a share for the three months to September, compared with analysts' forecasts of a profit of some $1.30.

The announcement came just days after the bank fired its London-based head of fixed-income trading, Osman Semerci, and parted company with two other senior executives in a shake-up of the division that deals in mortgage-backed securities.

Merrill's chief executive, Stanley O'Neal, admitted that the bank had failed to handle financial risks effectively.

Merrill admits losses of $5.5bn on bad loans | | Guardian Unlimited Business
 
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