New York City: Merrill Lynch

Bankers' Bad Math
Claim to Shame
Bank of America and its wealth management division, Merrill Lynch are some of the biggest, most profitable financial institutions in the world. They returned our investment in them by cutting jobs and moving offices around the city.
Loot
Property and sales tax exemptions and tax-exempt bonding from the NYCIDA; grants and other subsidies from Empire State Development.
Length
Merrill Lynch 1997 – 2012; Bank of America 2004 – 2029
Jobs
Merrill Lynch cut 3,801 jobs; Bank of America is 2,554 jobs short of their agreement
Total Tax Break$78,000,000

Big Bank Job Numbers Don’t Add Up

Merrill Lynch was handed $28 million worth in subsidies, including a $12.3 million tax break from the New York City IDA in 1997 to entice the company to conduct an expansion at the World Financial Center North in lower Manhattan. The company agreed to retain all of its 9,000 jobs and create 2,000 new jobs by June 2012. By the end of the deal, Merrill Lynch fell short of its job creation targets by nearly 6,000 jobs, and actually cut jobs. Although the deal with the NYCIDA contained a provision to “clawback” money if job creation goals were not met, the agency only recovered $379,000. It seems that according to the original agreement, they could have clawed back much more.

To top things off, Merrill Lynch recently announced they were moving from their current location into the Bank of America headquarters in midtown Manhattan. This location has benefited from a separate and more recent tax break deal of nearly $50 million. Bank of America promised to create 2,896 jobs, but has only created 352 in 8 years.

For some of the biggest, most profitable financial institutions in the world, these job creation numbers just don’t add up. New Yorkers should not be asked to pay for the richest corporations to cut jobs or move them around town.

Bio

Merrill Lynch is the wealth management division of Bank of America. Merrill Lynch is the world’s largest brokerage, with over $2.2 trillion in client assets. Merrill Lynch had $33 billion in annual sales in 2011, and the company is valued at $18.6 billion. Bank of America (BoA) is one of the world’s most profitable financial institutions. BoA made $189.4 billion in profits for the years 1996-2011. Meanwhile, a BoA bank teller wage averages $23,785/year or $11.44/hour. In 2010, BoA CEO Brian Moynihan received total pay of $10 million and a bonus of $9.5 million. BoA’s total bonuses and compensation pool for 2011 amounted to $34.4 billion. Total bonuses and compensation received by BoA’s top 5 executives in the last 10 years totals $518.8 million.

New York Daily News: Watchdog group Getting Our Money’s Worth Coalition protest tax breaks for Merrill Lynch

August 16, 2012. A watchdog group is rolling out a new public awareness campaign to highlight corporate welfare gone wrong — starting with tax breaks for Merrill Lynch that failed to create jobs. The labor-backed Getting Our Money’s Worth Coalition launched the Corporate Tax Dodgers Hall of Shame campaign with a website this week and will “induct” Merrill Lynch during a protest Friday in midtown Manhattan.
Continue reading →

WBAI Radio: Corporate Tax Dodgers Hall of Shame

August 15, 2012. For years corporations in New York State have gotten huge tax breaks for promising to create new jobs. But a new website, GettingOurMoney’sWorth.org, shows that these same corporations hardly ever create the promised jobs. WBAI’s Andrea Sears speaks with Natalie Alegre of ALIGN, the Alliance for a Greater New York, and a lead organizer of the Getting Our Money’s Worth Campaign. Continue reading →

Induction Ceremony Photos



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