Broadcort, a clearing division of Bank of America Merrill Lynch, has expanded its clearing and execution business for institutional broker-dealers by attracting more than a dozen new clients in the second half of 2009, and six additional new clients already in 2010.

"With our open architecture, robust third-party connectivity, high capacity and outstanding service culture, we believe we are setting a new standard in the institutional clearing space," says Michael Bird, head of Broadcort. "We would like to thank all of our clients who entrust their business to us every day."

Broadcort operates with Bank of America Merrill Lynch's execution services platform, providing an end-to-end execution, clearing and trade processing solution that enables institutional broker dealers to focus energies on clients and front-end trading activities.

Broadcort recently added senior client-facing professionals to help oversee its expanding client base.

"The growth opportunities for this business are tremendous, especially when leveraged with Bank of America Merrill Lynch's outstanding global sales and trading capabilities to help our clients achieve their goals," adds Bird.