Legacy Merrill Lynch brokers should see a new wave of client referrals from Bank of America branch offices in late October, when the bank says its retail branches will join in post-merger referral efforts, Dow Jones reported.

Bank of America launched a referral program when it placed its wealth-management bankers in the Merrill Lynch offices in June, providing Merrill advisors with a surge of new client leads. Some advisers say they feel like those leads have slowed down.

BoA’s purchase of Merrill Lynch – which caused controversy due to the heavy losses sustained by the latter firm – has created the world’s biggest wealth manager by assets, although it remains a predominantly domestic US player.

The new branch referral program will open up 6,000 branch offices across the country, plus online channels and call centres, as sources of client leads late next month, the news service said. Lyle LaMothe, head of US Wealth Management, was quoted saying that they "are likely to bring in thousands of more client contacts for financial advisors."

Mr LaMothe said nine referral programs are under way right now, including the wealth-management bankers, but brokers shouldn't expect them to produce a constant flood of leads.

"Programs like these tend to go in ebbs and flows, based on the type of referral," he said. "For instance, an offering with set maturity dates may trigger a greater concentration of clients seeking advice within a given market at those times. There is cyclicality to this."