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Lawyer: Merrill Lynch settles

Black financial advisers alleged bias

George McReynolds, the lead plaintiff, is shown at his home in Nashville, Tenn., on Tuesday. (Associated Press)
Michael Tarm Associated Press

CHICAGO – Lawyers for hundreds of black financial advisers have reached a $160 million settlement in a lawsuit accusing Wall Street brokerage giant Merrill Lynch of racial discrimination, a plaintiffs’ attorney said Wednesday.

If approved by a federal judge in Chicago, the payout by Merrill Lynch to around 1,200 plaintiffs would be one of the largest ever in a racial discrimination case, Chicago-based attorney Suzanne E. Bish said.

Bank of America-owned Merrill Lynch – one of the world’s largest brokerages with more than 15,000 financial advisers – issued a statement Wednesday saying only, “We’re not at this point commenting on the existence of the settlement nor the status of a settlement.”

Lead plaintiff George McReynolds accused Merrill Lynch of steering black brokers away from the most lucrative business, and so, under a compensation system emphasizing production, they earned less than their white counterparts. They made 43 percent less in compensation on average in 2006, plaintiff filings allege.

The settlement coincides with the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream Speech,” Bish noted. She said she hopes the case will help ensure the kind of equal opportunity King spoke about in Washington, D.C.

“I’m getting goose bumps thinking about it,” she said about the coincidence the settlement came around the anniversary. “What (the plaintiffs) wanted to achieve was the same opportunities for the next generation – for their children.”

Bish said the settlement should force changes beyond the company singled out as the defendant in the 8-year-old lawsuit.

“They are leaders on Wall Street,” she said. “And increasing opportunities for African-Americans at Merrill Lynch should spill over to the rest of Wall Street.”

The president of the Washington, D.C.-based National Black Chamber of Commerce, Harry C. Alford, echoed that.

“I am elated, ecstatic,” he said about the settlement. “It should send a message to Wall Street: You need to be conscious of discrimination and make sure you don’t discriminate.”

In its own filings in the case over recent years, Merrill Lynch denied the discrimination allegation and staunchly defended its compensation programs.

“All (financial advisers), regardless of race, are judged by the same metric,” one of the company’s filings argued. “The rule is simple: produce more, earn more.”

Settlements don’t necessarily imply that a defendant accepts any wrongdoing. Bish said she could not discuss detailed terms of the agreement with Merrill Lynch. A status hearing in the case is scheduled for Tuesday.