Merrill CEO Does Not Plan to Raise More Capital
U.S. investment bank Merrill Lynch does not plan to raise further capital as it has already raised more than it has lost, Chief Executive John Thain said on Tuesday.
He also said that while Merrill had not announced layoffs, it would be logical to focus on expenses.
A shrinking of Merrill's balance sheet will continue, he added at a briefing in Tokyo.
Merrill, which has so far written down $24 billion worth of investments related to the troubled U.S. mortgage market, has no need to raise fresh capital, Thain said in an interview last week.
Thain also told Japan's Nikkei business daily that he has no plans to sell the company, or merge it with another bank.
Merrill has raised about $12.8 billion of capital since late 2007, following heavy subprime losses in the third and fourth quarters.
The bank has also looked beyond the United States for its funding, raising $6.6 billion from a group that includes Japanese, Korean and Kuwaiti investors.