Merrill CEO O'Neal to Give Deposition (AP) NEW YORK

Stanley O'Neal, chairman and chief executive of Merrill Lynch & Co., will be called Nov. 1 to give a deposition in the race-discrimination suit filed by an African-American broker.

The suit, filed last November by Merrill broker George McReynolds, alleges discrimination in the hiring, promotion and compensation of African-Americans. Linda Friedman, a lawyer at Stowell & Friedman, which represents George McReynolds, said it is necessary to call on O'Neal to testify, because as chief executive he is chiefly responsible for the policies that define the company's culture.

"This is a committed date," Friedman said.

Merrill officials including Robert McCann, head of global wealth management, and Dan Sontag, head of the American advisory group, also have been asked for depositions, but only O'Neal has confirmed a date, Friedman said.

Mark Herr, a Merrill spokesman, declined to comment on O'Neal's scheduled deposition, which will come prior to Merrill's 15th annual symposium of African-American financial advisors.

O'Neal himself is African-American. He joined Merrill in 1986 as vice president in the company's investment-banking unit, where he headed several groups before being named executive vice president and chief financial officer in 1998.

He had a brief stint with Merrill's retail brokerage division beginning in early 2000 as president of the U.S. private client group. O'Neal was named Merrill's president and chief operating officer in July 2001 and won a tough succession battle to the chief executive post in December 2002.

"Mr. O'Neal's race was relevant when he was appointed CEO, as it brought hope that his leadership would be informed by his life experiences and that the discrimination would end," Friedman said. "That has not happened. Thus, there is disappointment."

O'Neal's deposition is part of the discovery phase of the McReynolds suit, which was filed at a Federal court in Chicago. The plaintiffs are analyzing piles of Merrill data before applying for class status, Friedman said.

Merrill's chief executive met in March with black brokers who supported McReynold's case amid settlement talks between Merrill executives and the potential litigants.

The negotiations broke down in June after the discussions turned to the size of the financial settlement, prompting McReynolds to lodge an amended suit that further detailed his race-bias allegations.

McReynolds claimed that when the original suit was filed, Merrill had no African-American brokers in about 25 states and that for the past several years, 75 percent of Merrill's black broker trainees were forced to leave the firm before completing the program, due to discriminatory practices.

Merrill said that as of June 30, it employed 344 African-American brokers in 35 states. The firm says the exceptions include states that have very low populations of African-Americans, such as Wyoming, North Dakota, Idaho and Maine.

Merrill, with more than 15,000 brokers, has begun directly basing part of its managers' compensation on their success at creating a more diverse workplace. The company has also set up an Office of Diversity at the retail brokerage unit headed by Colbert Narcisse, chief operating officer of the private client group, who is African-American.

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