Nationsbank's brokerage arm had used the bank's customer list to target people to approach, many of whom mistakenly believed that the derivatives were safe and insured.

A deal would also strengthen Datek Online, the company's brokerage arm, which has been plagued by regulatory and criminal investigations over the last two years.

In addition to Inet, its electronic trading network, the company has an institutional brokerage arm, also called Instinet.

Nor did she suggest going to the bank's brokerage arm.

For this the Bank of America brokerage arm would get convertible preferred stock.

A vast majority are concentrated in the unit based here in Somerset that provides support for the retail brokerage arm.

Man Group spun off its brokerage arm, Man Financial Inc, in an initial public offering in 2007.

Under the agreement in principle announced yesterday, the combined retail brokerage arm will be called Prudential Bache Thomson.

Reuters is interested in selling the entire business rather than dividing the electronic market and the brokerage arm because that would generate a large tax bill.

Regulators are investigating whether banks allocated shares to investors in exchange for stock trades by the investors through the banks' brokerage arms at high commissions.