Exhibit 99.1

       Merrill Lynch Reports Record Quarter; First Quarter Net Earnings up
 95% to $1.3 Billion; $1.22 Per Diluted Share; Net Revenues and Pre-Tax Earnings
                     Growth in All Three Business Segments

    NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 13, 2004--

    Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER) today reported record quarterly net
earnings of $1.3 billion, up 95% from $643 million in the 2003 first
quarter. Earnings per diluted share were $1.22, compared with $0.67
for the year-ago quarter. The increase in net earnings was driven by
growth in net revenues and pre-tax earnings in all three business
segments. First quarter net revenues were $6.1 billion, up 27% from
the first quarter of 2003 and up 25% from the fourth quarter. The
first quarter pre-tax profit margin rose to 27.8%, up almost nine
percentage points from 18.9% in the year-ago quarter. The return on
average common equity was 17.0%, up from 10.5% in the first quarter of
2003.
    Results this quarter include the impact of adopting the fair value
method of accounting for stock-based compensation under SFAS 123, and
results for prior periods have been restated to reflect this
methodology.

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    "We are very pleased with the quarter's results," said Merrill
Lynch chairman and chief executive officer Stan O'Neal. "We were able
to capitalize on an improved business environment to serve Merrill
Lynch's clients well and deliver strong performances across regions
and in all three business segments. The results demonstrate that the
company's capabilities to grow revenues and to maintain a strong
market position are very much intact.
    "We continue to emphasize disciplined growth, diversification of
revenues and maintaining a strategic balance within our franchise. We
are investing in talent and technology across all businesses to
sustain positive revenue momentum and to further strengthen our market
position. And although we are mindful that market sentiment can change
quickly, we see considerable opportunities for further growth."

    Business Segment Review:

    Global Markets and Investment Banking (GMI)

    GMI took advantage of favorable market conditions during the first
quarter of 2004, and both Global Markets and Investment Banking
contributed to the segment's increased net revenues and pre-tax
earnings. GMI's debt markets business achieved its highest-ever
quarterly revenues, and equity markets and investment banking had
their strongest revenues in eleven and nine quarters, respectively.

    --  GMI's first quarter pre-tax earnings were $1.1 billion, up 49%
        from the year-ago quarter, driven by net revenues that
        increased 32%, to $3.2 billion. These were the highest net
        revenues since the 2001 first quarter. GMI's first quarter
        pre-tax margin was 34.5%, four percentage points higher than
        the year-ago quarter. All regions reported year-over-year and
        sequential-quarter net revenue increases.

    --  Global Markets net revenues increased strongly from both the
        2003 first quarter and fourth quarter. Debt markets revenue
        growth was driven by increased client activity as a result of
        continued favorable interest rate and credit environments, as
        well as selective position-taking. All major business lines
        within debt markets recorded strong increases in net revenues
        compared with the fourth quarter of 2003, with revenues from
        interest rate products demonstrating particularly strong
        sequential-quarter growth. Equity markets revenues also grew
        strongly as volumes and volatility increased, with cash
        equity, equity-linked trading, and equity financing and
        services revenues all driving sequential-quarter and
        year-over-year increases.

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    --  Investment Banking net revenues rose significantly from the
        year-ago quarter and were also up from the strong fourth
        quarter. Compared with the first quarter of 2003, equity
        origination, debt origination and merger and acquisition
        advisory revenues all increased. Growth in equity origination
        revenues more than offset a slight decline in debt origination
        to generate the increase from the fourth quarter. Merrill
        Lynch's market share increased from the year-ago period across
        all three major investment banking product areas-equity and
        equity-linked underwriting, fixed income underwriting and
        announced M&A advisory.

    Global Private Client (GPC)

    GPC achieved record quarterly pre-tax earnings and the highest net
revenues in eleven quarters. Accelerated revenue growth and ongoing
expense management contributed to the strong performance. GPC
continued to make progress on its key initiatives, including growth in
Financial Advisors, strong asset flows into annuitized products as
well as positive net new assets overall, and continued revenue
diversification.

    --  GPC's first quarter pre-tax earnings of $510 million were
        double those of the year-ago quarter, as net revenues
        increased 19%, to $2.5 billion. The net revenue growth was
        driven by increased transaction activity, continued strength
        in revenues from fee-based products, and increased revenues
        from the distribution of new issues. GPC's pre-tax margin was
        20.4%, nearly nine percentage points higher than the
        prior-year quarter. Non-compensation expenses were lower
        despite a $45 million expense related to the adoption of a new
        accounting standard governing guaranteed minimum death
        benefits in variable annuity products.

    --  Through competitive recruitment and new trainee hiring,
        Financial Advisors grew by 224 to 13,700 worldwide. Turnover
        of top-producing FAs remained at historic low levels.

    --  Total assets in GPC accounts increased 18% from the year-ago
        quarter, to $1.3 trillion. Net inflows into annuitized
        products, including net new money and funds transferred into
        annuitized products from existing accounts, continued at a
        strong pace at $13 billion during the quarter.

    --  GPC continues to deliver innovative products for clients,
        including the Loan Management Account(SM), a new
        securities-based financing solution offering clients optimum
        flexibility and control over their financing needs. Also,
        after a successful pilot, the new Merrill+(SM) VISA(R) credit
        card will be launched nationwide during the second quarter.

    Merrill Lynch Investment Managers (MLIM)

    MLIM's positive earnings momentum continued as it posted its third
consecutive quarter of growth in revenues and earnings. MLIM continues
to leverage its strong investment performance to grow the distribution
of its products, while maintaining an efficient operating platform.

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    --  MLIM's first quarter pre-tax earnings were $111 million, up
        almost three-fold from $39 million in the first quarter of
        2003. Net revenues increased 22% to $412 million, driven by
        increased asset values and net inflows. The pre-tax margin was
        26.9%, up over 15 percentage points from 11.6% in the year-ago
        period.

    --  MLIM's relative investment performance continues to be strong,
        with more than 70% of global assets under management ahead of
        their respective benchmarks or medians for the one-, three-
        and five-year periods ended February 2004.

    --  Net inflows of $7 billion, combined with positive currency and
        market movements, resulted in a $71 billion net increase in
        MLIM assets under management from the year-ago quarter, to
        $513 billion. Strong inflows in U.S. institutional fixed
        income and liquidity products, Consults(R) managed accounts
        and European third-party retail channels drove the net
        inflows, and more than offset narrowing outflows in the
        European institutional business.

    First Quarter Income Statement Review:

    Revenues

    Net revenues were $6.1 billion, 27% higher than the 2003 first
quarter.
    Asset management and portfolio service fees were $1.3 billion, up
17% from the first quarter of 2003. This increase includes higher
portfolio servicing fees, a large portion of which are calculated on
beginning-of-period asset values, as well as increased investment and
fund management fees.
    Commission revenues were $1.4 billion, up 27% from the first
quarter of 2003, due to higher transaction volumes, particularly in
listed equities and mutual funds.
    Principal transactions revenues were $1.0 billion, essentially
unchanged from the year-ago quarter but nearly three times the 2003
fourth quarter level. This sequential quarter increase reflected
strong growth in debt and equity trading revenues, resulting from
improved market conditions and a continued favorable interest rate
environment. Principal transactions and net interest revenues in GMI
are closely related and need to be analyzed in aggregate to better
understand the changes in net trading revenues.
    Net interest profit was $1.2 billion, up 33% from the 2003 first
quarter, due primarily to a favorable yield curve environment and
increased secured lending activity.

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    Investment banking revenues were $837 million, 70% higher than the
year-ago quarter. These revenues included underwriting revenues of
$672 million, up 83% from the year-ago quarter, driven largely by
increased equity underwriting revenues in a more favorable market
environment. Strategic advisory revenues were $165 million, 32% higher
than the year-ago quarter, as merger and acquisition activity levels
increased.
    Other revenues were $367 million, up $154 million from the 2003
first quarter due principally to increased revenue from investments,
partially offset by lower realized gains on the sales of mortgages.

    Expenses

    Compensation and benefits expenses were $3.0 billion and were
50.0% of net revenues for the first quarter of 2004, compared to 53.3%
in the year-ago quarter. These amounts include the retroactive
restatement for stock option expensing under SFAS 123, which was
approximately $59 million and $65 million, respectively, in the 2004
and 2003 first quarters.
    Overall, non-compensation expenses were $1.4 billion. Excluding a
$45 million provision related to adopting a new accounting standard
for guaranteed minimum death benefits on variable annuity contracts,
non-compensation expenses were down 2% from the 2003 first quarter.
    Details of the significant changes in non-compensation expenses
from the first quarter of 2003 are as follows:

    --  communications and technology costs were $341 million, down
        15%, due primarily to reduced technology equipment
        depreciation and rental costs, as well as lower systems
        consulting and communications costs;

    --  brokerage, clearing, and exchange fees were $204 million, up
        20% due to higher transaction volumes;

    --  professional fees increased 23%, to $177 million, due
        principally to increased legal, consulting and recruitment
        fees; and

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    --  other expenses of $239 million increased 8%. The $45 million
        expense for the adoption of SOP 03-1, relating to the
        accounting for death or other insurance benefits, was
        partially offset by lower provisions for losses.

    Merrill Lynch's year-to-date effective tax rate was 26.0%.

    Staffing

    Merrill Lynch's full-time employees totaled 48,200 at the end of
the first quarter of 2004, a net increase of 100 during the quarter.

    Stock Repurchase Plan

    On February 10, Merrill Lynch announced that its board of
directors authorized the repurchase of up to $2 billion of outstanding
common shares. As part of its active management of equity capital,
Merrill Lynch repurchased 8.2 million shares of its common stock
during the first quarter at an average price of $61.25 per share.

    Ahmass Fakahany, executive vice president and chief financial
officer, will host a conference call today at 10:00 a.m. EDT to
discuss the company's 2004 first quarter results. The conference call
can be accessed via a live audio webcast available through the
Investor Relations website at www.ir.ml.com or by dialing (888)
810-0245 (U.S. callers) or (706) 634-0180 (non-U.S. callers).
On-demand replay of the webcast will be available from approximately
1:00 p.m. EDT today at the same web address.

    Merrill Lynch is one of the world's leading financial management
and advisory companies with offices in 35 countries and total client
assets of approximately $1.5 trillion. As an investment bank, it is a
leading global underwriter of debt and equity securities and strategic
advisor to corporations, governments, institutions, and individuals
worldwide. Through Merrill Lynch Investment Managers, the company is
one of the world's largest managers of financial assets, with assets
under management of $513 billion. For more information on Merrill
Lynch, please visit www.ml.com.

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    Merrill Lynch may make or publish forward-looking statements about
management expectations, strategic objectives, business prospects,
anticipated expense savings and financial results, the expensing of
stock options, anticipated results of litigation and regulatory
proceedings, and other similar matters. A variety of factors, many of
which are beyond Merrill Lynch's control, affect the operations,
performance, business strategy and results of Merrill Lynch and could
cause actual results and experiences to differ materially from the
expectations and objectives expressed in these statements. These
factors include, but are not limited to, financial market volatility,
actions and initiatives by current and potential competitors, the
effect of current and future legislation or regulation, and certain
other additional factors described in Merrill Lynch's 2003 Annual
Report on Form 10-K and subsequent reports on Form 10-Q and Form 8-K,
which are available on the Merrill Lynch Investor Relations website at
www.ir.ml.com and at the SEC's website, www.sec.gov.

    Accordingly, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on
forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date on which
they are made. Merrill Lynch does not undertake to update such
statements to reflect the impact of circumstances or events that arise
after the date these statements were made. Readers should, however,
consult any further disclosures Merrill Lynch may make in its reports
filed with the SEC.

    CONTACT: Merrill Lynch
             Media Relations: Michael O'Looney, 212/449-9205
             michael_olooney@ml.com
             Investor Relations: Tina Madon, 866/607-1234
             investor_relations@ml.com


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