What is it?

After the collapse of Lehman Brothers last year, Bank of America, one of the largest mortgage providers in the United States, bought Merrill Lynch, the investment bank, in a $50 billion rescue deal. The combined bank has since shed more than 35,000 jobs worldwide, including about 1,900 positions in London. Merrill Lynch’s losses amounted to £27.6 billion in 2008.

Which graduate jobs are on offer?

The bank offers full-time graduate jobs and internships in global markets, investment banking, wealth management, research, product solutions, risk management, technology, human resources and credit card services. The bank looks for candidates with strong academic qualifications, good quantitative skills and an interest in financial markets. There are expected to be about 250 graduate vacancies in 2010.

Where are the jobs?

Most of the bank’s operations are in the City of London or at Canary Wharf, but the credit card business is based in Chester.

What’s the pay?

Few, if any, of the big investment banks publicise their graduate starting salaries, but most are thought to pay starting salaries of between £35,000 and £42,000.

What’s the competition?

Although the number of graduates interested in investment banking dropped by more than a third this year, the best-known banks still received at least 100 applications for each entry-level vacancy.

How is it rated?

Whilst Merrill Lynch has been ranked within The Times Top 100 Graduate Employers every year for the past decade and made it into the the top forty on four occasions, the Bank of America joined the list three years ago, achieving 75th place in 2008.

How do I apply?

The application deadline for most of its 2010 graduate programmes is November 6, but the credit card scheme closes on November 30. For full details, see www.bankofamerica.com/campusrecruiting

The Times Top 100 Graduate Employers book is based on research with 16,000 final-year university students by High Fliers Research.

The 2009 edition is available from www.Top100GraduateEmployers.com

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