Bank of America buys out Merrill Lynch in bold move

Bank of America's (BAC) purchase of Merrill Lynch (MER) will create the nation's largest retail bank even as it signals the end of independence for the 94-year-old brokerage house known for bringing Wall Street to Main Street.
Bank of America's decision to acquire Merrill Lynch in an all-stock transaction — the culmination of 48 hours of frenzied negotiations — will give it the nation's largest retail brokerage network and a sizable investment banking presence.

It's a bold move and a noteworthy reversal for CEO Ken Lewis, who last fall, when steep trading losses in BofA's own investment banking division helped cut the bank's third-quarter profits by almost a third, said he wasn't interested in growing it.

"I've had all the fun I can stand in investment banking at the moment," he told banking analysts in a conference call, according to a transcript.
-Yahoo.com

i thought bank of america always was the biggest bank..in america

Well BoA was/is the largest commercial (i.e. business) bank and Citigroup WAS the biggest retail (i.e. open to the public) bank....

Not anymore I guess