NEW YORK, Jan. 30 -Bank of America today announced it has acquired Financial Labs, LLC, a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based trading firm specializing in algorithm-driven pricing and trading. The acquisition, which includes Financial Labs' team of mathematicians and astrophysicists, was structured as a purchase of selected assets of Financial Labs. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050720/CLW086LOGO-b)
"This acquisition is another important step in achieving the overall growth plan we have set out for Bank of America's foreign exchange platform," said Christiane Mandell, global head of Foreign Exchange for Bank of America. "The team of physicists and astrophysicists that are the core of Financial Labs have established themselves as leaders in high frequency trading. Their expertise meaningfully enhances our ability to provide automated, efficient pricing to our clients and continually deliver world class market making."
"As part of the Bank of America platform, we look forward to more fully utilizing the skills of our team to provide our intelligent pricing and execution capabilities to a broader audience of clients," said Aaron Sokasian, former Chief Executive Officer of Financial Labs.
Mark Werner, head of Global Markets, said, "Bank of America continues to emphasize the development of algorithmic and other electronic trading capabilities to effectively meet client needs. Building on our success in electronic trading in equities, the Financial Labs acquisition accelerates our already strong momentum in FX electronic trading, and positions us to extend our expertise into other markets."
About Bank of America
Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) is one of the world's leading financial services companies. The company's Global Corporate & Investment Banking group (GCIB) provides investment banking, equity and debt capital raising, research, trading, risk management, treasury management and financial advisory services. Through offices in more than 30 countries, GCIB serves domestic and international corporations, institutional investors, financial institutions and government entities. Many of the bank's services to corporate and institutional clients are provided through its U.S. and UK subsidiaries, Banc of America Securities LLC and Banc of America Securities Limited. For additional information, visit http://www.bankofamerica.com.
About Financial Labs, LLC
Financial Labs, LLC, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, was founded in 2003 and has evolved to become a significant participant in the rapidly- growing alternative trading systems industry. Financial Labs specializes in automated, algorithmic trading in the world of high-frequency finance. It was one of the first proprietary trading firms to be permitted to operate on EBS and Reuters. It also functions as a market-maker on these platforms. For more information, please visit http://www.finlabs.net.
