Heads roll in Merrill’s main branch

As Bank of America Corp. prepares to buy Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc., Merrill yesterday cut ties with the manager of its flagship branch when Joseph Mattia was escorted from the midtown Manhattan building, sources said.
The reasons for his leaving the New York-based company weren’t clear.
A Merrill Lynch spokesman, Mark Herr, declined to comment except to confirm that Mr. Mattia, who had the title of director, is no longer with the firm.
The office is Merrill Lynch’s largest and houses about 200 of the firm’s representatives and financial advisers.
Industry sources said that a branch manager could lose his or her job for a number of reasons, including compliance problems as well as personnel issues.
“Being a branch manager is tough,” said Danny Sarch, a recruiter in White Plains, N.Y.
“Every broker under you has a put option on your career.”
Meanwhile, Merrill Lynch yesterday also cut ties with adviser Rosalie H. Fields, who worked in that same office.
She was one of the brokers who sued Merrill Lynch in a class action brought by more than 900 female brokers alleging gender discrimination.
That suit was eventually settled with nearly all those brokers.
Bank of America of Charlotte, N.C., in September said that it would purchase Merrill Lynch for about $50 billion.
The deal is expected to close in the first quarter.