Merrill Lynch has completed the $1.8 billion acquisition of First Republic Bank, a NYSE-traded private banking and wealth manager focused on high net worth individuals and their businesses, into its Merrill Lynch Bank & Trust Company FSB subsidiary. First Republic, headquartered in San Francisco, will operate as a division of MLBT-FSB and will continue to operate under the First Republic Bank brand. First Republic provides private banking, private business banking, real estate lending, trust, brokerage and investment management. "First Republic will enable Merrill Lynch to accelerate our strategic objective of growing our high net worth, private banking business,” said Robert McCann, president of Merrill's Global Wealth Management group. "Merrill Lynch's goal is to provide First Republic with resources and support to replicate the firm's success in key affluent markets across the country and to benefit from its deep banking expertise.”