The end of Merrill Lynch was not as quick and maybe didn't seem as final (at the time) as the denouement of Bear Stearns or Lehman Brothers, but it was nevertheless as painful for those who worked there.

Merrill now, of course, is no more. On Monday 15th September last, the firm agreed to be taken over by Bank of America, and that deal closed on January 1st, ending 95 years of independent history. And all over the globe, as the final business day of the year neared its end Wednesday, Merrill employees looked back at an historic year in sorrow and forward to a new one in somewhat trepidation.

One Merrill staffer told Here Is The City: 'There were tears on the trading floor Wednesday, as the curtain came down on Merrill Lynch. And the mood around the firm is generally a mixed one. We are glad that we didn't go the same way as Lehman, but are clearly concerned about how many of us will lose our jobs in the new organisation in 2009'. Up to 35,000 jobs are now thought likely to go in the combined business, as Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis attempts to bag those $7bn in cost-savings, and the financial and economic crisis continues to take a toll on headcount.

Associated Press also reports that at the closing bell on New Year's Eve on the fifth floor of the World Financial Center in Manhattan, Merrill employees held a 'clapoff'. Hundreds are said to have applauded, paying solemn tribute to the firm that many regarded as home.

Focus will now turn, however, from the past to the future. And many see the Merrill Lynch deal as perhaps the most challenging that Ken Lewis has had put to bed. Lewis himself remains upbeat (as you would expect), saying in a statement earlier this week: 'We are now uniquely positioned to win market share and expand our leadership position in markets around the world'. Lewis may, however, find that this will be easier said than done. With a troubled global economy, an under pressure stock price (the firm's shares fell 66% last year), a question mark over the future of investment banking, and two vastly different business cultures to integrate, Lewis and his new executive team will clearly have their work cut out.

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