BofA Won't Sweat Merrill Departures

A call to Weisel's office was not immediately returned. The analyst says a similar phenomenon occurred with BofA's acquisition of high net worth adviser U.S. Trust in 2006. "Have any of the people who left U.S. Trust harmed Bank of America in any way? I don't think so," he says.

This analyst says BofA's strategy differs from many other acquirers, who try to grow the revenue of the businesses they take over. By contrast, he says BofA focuses more on cutting costs than expanding revenue, with the idea that the gains from lower expenses will offset the revenue drop.

"A lot of guys from Merrill think they're going to be running circles around these yahoos from Charlotte in no time," the analyst says. "They are in for a surprise: Ken Lewis is a lot smarter than they think."