Hold Nose, then Vote Yes

Acquire Merrill
ROBERT CYRAN

Let us give thanks to Bank of America shareholders for taking one for the team. That’s what they’ll essentially be doing, assuming they greenlight the bank’s takeover of Merrill Lynch next week, as seems likely.

By almost any measure, Merrill will not be worth remotely as much as Bank of America, the bank run by Kenneth D. Lewis, agreed to pay in September. So it might be tempting for shareholders to vote against the deal when they meet on Dec. 5.

Trouble is, after the latest bailout of Citigroup — and multiple attempts to stabilize Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and other former investment banks — voting down the merger would deliver another terrifying shock to the financial system.