In a rushed bid to ride out the storm sweeping American finance, 94-year-old Merrill Lynch agreed late Sunday to sell itself to Bank of America for roughly $44bn (€30.8bn).

The deal, which was being worked out in 48 hours of frenetic negotiating, could instantly reshape the US banking landscape, making the nation's prime behemoth even bigger. The boards of the two companies approved the deal Sunday evening, according to people familiar with the matter.