A brokerage analyst expects Merrill Lynch to be forced to make another write down of as much as $5bn (€3.45bn), after the bank reportedly approached the chief executive of asset manager BlackRock with an offer for the top job.

Richard X. Bove, a Punk Ziegel & Co. analyst, said in a research report this weekend that he expects Merrill Lynch's new chief executive to announce additional writedowns of between $4bn and $5bn as he "attempts to sweep away the company's problems".