If you go by history, there would appear to be only a small chance that the Bank of America-Merrill Lynch deal will really work out. Breakingviews notes a bevy of failed attempts by commercial banks to integrate investment banks. NationsBank's bought Montgomery Securities for $1.2 billion in 1997. NationsBank of course later merged with Bank of America, which purchased Robertson Stephens in 1998. Another loser deal.

You have to wonder if these deals were on CEO Ken Lewis's mind when he dove into the Merrill Lynch transaction. Why the difficulty? Perhaps the cultural rifts are just sharp. Or perhaps commercial banks have a knack for buying at exactly the wrong time. We'll see how Bank of America fares with Merrill Lynch. It's off to a troubling start.

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