1. |
I have reviewed this annual report on Form 10-K for the
fiscal year ended December 31, 2004 of Merrill
Lynch & Co., Inc.; |
2. |
Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue
statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact
necessary to make the statements made, in light of the
circumstances under which such statements were made, not
misleading with respect to the period covered by this report; |
3. |
Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other
financial information included in this report, fairly present in
all material respects the financial condition, results of
operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the
periods presented in this report; |
4. |
The registrants other certifying officer(s) and I are
responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls
and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e)
and 15d-15(e)) and internal control over financial reporting (as
defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for
the registrant and have: |
(a) |
Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such
disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our
supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the
registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made
known to us by others within those entities, particularly during
the period in which this report is being prepared; |
(b) |
Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or
caused such internal control over financial reporting to be
designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance
regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the
preparation of financial statements for external purposes in
accordance with generally accepted accounting principles; |
(c) |
Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrants disclosure
controls and procedures and presented in this report our
conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls
and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this
report based on such evaluation; and |
(d) |
Disclosed in this report any change in the registrants
internal control over financial reporting that occurred during
the registrants most recent fiscal quarter (the
registrants fourth fiscal quarter in the case of this
annual report) that has materially affected, or is reasonably
likely to materially affect, the registrants internal
control over financial reporting; and |
5. |
The registrants other certifying officer(s) and I have
disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal
control over financial reporting, to the registrants
auditors and the audit committee of the registrants board
of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions): |
(a) |
All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the
design or operation of internal control over financial reporting
which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the
registrants ability to record, process, summarize and
report financial information; and |
(b) |
Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or
other employees who have a significant role in the
registrants internal control over financial reporting. |
/s/ E. Stanley ONeal | |
|
|
E. Stanley ONeal | |
Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer |