Bank of America, the second-biggest U.S. lender by assets, is simplifying its structure after Chief Executive Officer Brian T. Moynihan's predecessor bought Merrill Lynch in 2009. Merging the legal entity could help Moynihan hit his $8 billion-a-year cost-cutting target and comply with regulators who want to make the biggest banks easier to resolve in a crisis. "Less-complex structures would increase the success of resolution planning via living wills in the case of potential worst-case financial distress scenarios," David Hendler, an analyst at CreditSights Inc., said today in an e-mail with the subject line: "Bye Bye Merrill Lynch & Co.?" Dissolving the legal entity also ends Merrill Lynch's need to file separate regulatory disclosures. The move will have "no impact" on how the firm serves clients or on the Merrill Lynch brand, said Jerry Dubrowski, a Bank of America spokesman.