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Merrill not aware of "inappropriate transactions"

NEW YORK
Fri Nov 2, 2007 1:48pm EDT

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A Merrill Lynch office building in Great Neck, New York, October 30, 2007. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Merrill Lynch & Co Inc MER.N said on Friday it was not aware of any transactions that moved billions of dollars of risky subprime-related assets to hedge funds to reduce company exposure and delay write-downs.

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"We have no reason to believe that any such inappropriate transactions occurred," Merrill Lynch said in a statement. "Such transactions would clearly violate Merrill Lynch policy."

Merrill responded to a story in Friday's Wall Street Journal that said the company sought to move collateralized debt obligations off its balance sheet to hedge funds. The implication is that Merrill would use such a move to conceal problems with certain assets.

Merrill said the story was "non-specific" and relied on unidentified sources.

(Reporting by Tim McLaughlin)
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