The combined wealth management operation, which is set to go by Merrill Lynch Wealth Management, is expected to wind up with nine offices in the county, Mech said. Before the deal, Merrill Lynch had nine local offices. Bank of America's early 2009 buy of Merrill Lynch & Co. turned a couple of big names in OC into the dominant local player in wealth management. Merrill Lynch recently surpassed $25 billion in local money under management, according to Mech. Mech, who hails from the Merrill Lynch side, credited much of the growth to a more than 20% boost in local financial advisers to 241. Most of those gained came from Bank of America, which put its wealth management operations under newly acquired Merrill Lynch. Some of the added wealth advisers were drawn from rivals because of the combined operation's range of services, Mech said. "The combination of Bank of America and Merrill Lynch certainly opens some new opportunities for us to work with clients in more comprehensive ways," he said.