March 04, 2009

Bank of America Corp. may move a portion of Merrill Lynch & Co.’s operations in the World Financial Center to midtown Manhattan later this year, SL Green Realty Corp. Chief Executive Officer Marc Holliday said.“It is our understanding that Merrill will be moving much of its banking, sales and trading from downtown to Midtown and filling up much of the space B of A either has or would have had available,” Holliday said today at Citigroup’s Global Property CEO Conference in Naples, Florida. Bank of America has a new headquarters tower at Sixth Avenue and 42nd Street.

Merrill’s exit from lower Manhattan would put more space on the market as landlords face the worst commercial property slump in more than a decade. JPMorgan Chase & Co., Citigroup Inc., bankrupt Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and industry rivals have already vacated 4.6 million feet, according to CB Richard Ellis Group Inc.Neither Bank of America nor Merrill Lynch are among SL Green’s biggest tenants. Brookfield Properties Corp. owns the World Financial Center where Merrill is based and Brookfield Chief Executive Officer Richard “Ric” Clark said today he expects the bank to decide by summer on whether to renew Merrill’s lease there.