Merrill Lynch

The issuer is part of Bank of America, 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.

Following the combination with Merrill Lynch, Bank of America has become:

• The largest brokerage in the world, with more than 15,000 Financial Advisors and approximately $2.2 trillion in client assets
• A leading provider of global corporate and investment banking services, including commercial lending, global high-yield debt, global equity and global M&A
• A global leader in wealth management, private banking and retail brokerage
• Bank of America owns approximately 34% of the economic interest in BlackRock, an independent, publicly-traded investment management firm