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. Merrill Lynch had about $62 billion in long-term debt as of the second quarter, Hendler said. The move shouldn't affect Merrill Lynch bonds because spreads have already converged with those of the parent company, Mr. Hendler said. Bank of America faced regulatory probes, investor lawsuits and criticism from lawmakers over claims it didn't warn shareholders about Merrill Lynch's mounting losses before they voted to buy the firm for $18.5 billion. Last year, Bank of America agreed to pay $2.43 billion to investors who suffered losses during the takeover, engineered by former CEO Kenneth D. Lewis as the world's biggest financial firms teetered near collapse during the 2008 credit crisis.