Market players pointed fingers in different directions in response to the location of Merrill Lynch's syndication group, which was displaced after the attack on the World Trade Center. Various answers put the group in New Jersey, operating out of a fellow banker's apartment, or working from home individually. Early last week, some market sources insisted the group was working from the apartment of Jack Yang, the head of leveraged finance products for Merrill. A Merrill Lynch official said staffers who live near Yang were there for a couple of days while others worked from home. The group has plans to move to the firm's contingency site in Jersey City by the end of the week. "There are 200 people in New Jersey and that number will double and triple in time," he said. He added that the loan group is very much intact and open for business. He noted the trading group is also stationed in New Jersey while the capital markets and originations groups are located at various law offices throughout the city with which the firm has relationships.
Merrill's Loan Group Pulling Together