Investment Thesis

Arguably, BAC has built one of the greatest brands in the market.  "The Bank of America."  Nothing denotes safety and security better than "America."  The combination of BAC / Merrill Lynch makes good, business sense.  But after seven years, leveraging the benefits from the combination remain stuck in a political morass at BAC.  Instead of extending the market reach by integrating the operations of both organizations, BAC has reinforced the original boundaries of each organization, and this has stifled the leveraging of any benefits from the combination.  If BAC can really integrate the Merrill Lynch operation, then BAC is significantly undervalued in the market.  But really integrating the Merrill Lynch organization into the BAC organization is the key variable in the creation of shareholder value.