Merrill plans to halve year-end bonuses: report

(Reuters) - Merrill Lynch & Co, which is set to merge with Bank of America Corp, plans to cut year-end bonuses in half, Bloomberg News said, citing two people with knowledge of the situation.

Bonuses on average will fall 50 percent, and some traders and investment bankers will face steeper cuts, the people, who declined to be identified because the plans are not officially public, told the news service.

The company could not be immediately reached for comment.

Merrill's revenue through September fell 96 percent from a year earlier, forcing Chief Executive John Thain to slash compensation, the firm's biggest expense, the Bloomberg report said.

Merrill agreed to merge with Bank of America on September 15, an hour before Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc filed for bankruptcy. The fear was that Merrill could be next if shareholders and trading partners fled, as many did at Lehman and the former Bear Stearns.

Bank of America and Merrill shareholders are expected to vote on Friday morning for the merger.

(Reporting by Pratish Narayanan in Bangalore, editing by Will Waterman)