“Merrill Lynch is a great global franchise and I look forward to working with Ken Lewis and our senior management teams to create what will be the leading financial institution in the world with the combination of these two firms,” Merrill Lynch Chairman and CEO John Thain said in the statement. Strategically, most industry analysts are saying it’s a good fit. If the deal goes according to plan, Bank of America will be able to offer Merrill’s retail brokerage services to its huge customer base. There is not a great deal of overlap between the two companies — Bank of America does have an investment bank already, but it has never been terribly strong. Where there is duplication, however, the combination of the two companies could result in more layoffs. Both Merrill and Bank of America have already cut thousands of investment banking jobs over the past year. And the deal does not come without risks to Bank of America. Merrill Lynch, like many of its Wall Street peers, has been struggling with tight credit markets and billions of dollars in assets tied to mortgages that have plunged in value. Merrill has reported four straight quarterly losses, and its stock has been sliding. Thain and Lewis said on the call that both companies have “nominal” exposure to Lehman Brothers. Officials from the government and various banks met this weekend to discuss what to do about Lehman Brothers. When Bank of America balked at buying Lehman, the government urged it to buy Merrill instead. The deal differs from JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s buyout in March of Bear Stearns Cos. in that Bear Stearns was sold at a steep discount and with financial backing from the Fed. While Merrill Lynch is burdened with soured real estate investments, its financial position is stronger than Bear Stearns’ was.