Banc of America-Merrill Lynch Is Home to Europe's Best Generalist, Specialist Sales Teams in "Institutional Investor's" 2009 Best Europe Sales Team Survey

NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - April 22, 2009) - Banc of America Securities-Merrill Lynch fields Europe's best overall equities sales force, according to participants in "Institutional Investor's" 2009 Best Europe Sales Team survey. Full results are available at www.iimagazine.com.

The firm is also named the best specialist sales force for pan-European equities in a separate "Institutional Investor" ranking.

Merrill Lynch & Co., which was acquired by Bank of America Corp. in a deal that was completed in January, held the top spot last year in overall pan-European equity sales. Last year's No. 2 firm, UBS, returns in the same position, while Credit Suisse zooms from No. 5 to No. 3.

In specialist sales, BofA-Merrill and UBS repeat in first and second places, respectively. J.P. Morgan Securities lands in third place, skyrocketing all the way from No. 8 last year.

Renaissance Capital is home to the best equity sales force in the emerging markets of Europe, the Middle East & Africa, followed by BofA-Merrill in second place and UniCredit CIB in third.

The Pan-Europe Sales Team rankings are derived from "Institutional Investor's" annual All-Europe and Emerging EMEA Research Team surveys. Results are based on responses from 1,100 portfolio managers and other investment professionals at more than 570 firms managing European and emerging-markets equities.

The sales portion of the survey provides rankings across 15 pan-European industry groups/specialist sales categories, ten sales performance attributes, and eight pan-European and six emerging-market countries.

Rankings based on each of these criteria can be found on our web site, www.iimagazine.com.

For more information about these rankings, please contact Alyssa Walker at awalker@iiresearchgroup.com or (212) 224-3677.

About Institutional Investor

Now entering its fifth decade, "Institutional Investor" has consistently distinguished itself among the world's foremost financial publications with ground-breaking journalism and incisive writing that provides "must read" intelligence for a global audience. Three editions of the magazine are published: Americas, International and Asia. In addition, throughout the year "Institutional Investor" offers a host of proprietary research and rankings that serve as respected industry benchmarks, informing and influencing its carefully targeted circulation base throughout the year. For more information visit www.iimagazine.com.

Contact Information: Contact: Alyssa Walker awalker@iiresearchgroup.com (212) 224-3677