A Merrill Lynch Update.

Business Editors

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 16, 2001

Merrill Lynch today released the following:

Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER) is preparing to open for business as usual tomorrow morning, September 17. Debt and equity traders who were displaced by last week's events have been moved to alternative locations. Financial Advisors who had worked in the World Financial Center are set up to serve clients at locations throughout New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. Retail brokerage clients can call 1-800-MERRILL for specific information. Merrill Lynch Investment Managers, the firm's asset management arm, is fully operational throughout the world in the U.S., London, Singapore, Japan and Australia; investment-management professionals who had worked in the World Financial Center will operate out of Princeton and other regional locations.

Merrill Lynch used telemarketing technology to reach all 12,000 affected employees at their homes in New York City and the entire tri-state area, with the following recorded message from Merrill Lynch Chairman and CEO David H. Komansky: "I apologize for reaching you with a recording, but this is one way to let you know that we are thinking of you and your family in this difficult time. With the World Financial Center and other downtown facilities closed, we know you may be feeling anxiety and dislocation. For information or other needs, please contact your manager or call this hotline number: 877.637.9040. We can provide counseling for you or your loved ones if needed. We're a family at Merrill Lynch, and I'm proud of the way we're pulling together. Thank you, and hope to see you soon."

Merrill Lynch Chairman and CEO David H. Komansky is interviewed by the New York Times' Pat McGeehan about his determination to restore normal activity for Merrill Lynch employees and clients. "You're damn right the firm is going to come back," he said. "This place did not get to be what it is by having a bunch of pussycats here."

E. Stanley O'Neal, President and COO, toured the firm's two World Financial Center buildings that were damaged in last week's attack. The firm estimated it could take as long as three months to return to its 250 Vesey Street building (4 World Financial Center), and up to a year to return to the firm's 225 Liberty Street facility (2 World Financial Center).

Merrill Lynch will publish a full-page advertisement in major newspapers on Monday, September 17, entitled "The acts of a few. The hopes of many." The ad reassures investors, saying "We have been working with government and industry leaders to ensure that the acts of a few will not deter the hopes of many." The firm says that while equities may sustain "an emotional aftershock," history shows that the markets do recover.

Merrill Lynch is one of the world's leading financial management and advisory companies, with offices in 43 countries and total client assets of more than $1.6 trillion. As an investment bank, it is the top global underwriter of debt and equity securities and a leading strategic advisor to corporations, governments, institutions and individuals worldwide. Through Merrill Lynch Investment Managers, the company is one of the world's largest managers of financial assets. For more information on Merrill Lynch, please visit www.ml.com.