Merrill expands prime broking beyond equities

Merrill Lynch is expanding its prime broking capabilities in Asia and Japan to include futures and fixed income. Until now its PB unit was limited to equity financing. Melvyn Ford, the Hong Kong-based managing director who has run the equity-financing desk, will be responsible for these new functions.ôAs we further expand, it makes sense to combine these two functions now as the core services offered by each are so similar,ö says Ford in Hong Kong. ôHedge funds with sophisticated stra…