Crash of the Titans

Greed, Hubris, the Fall of Merrill Lynch and the Near-Collapse of Bank of America

De: Greg Farrell

Narrado por: Dan Woren

The intimate, fly-on-the wall tale of the decline and fall of an America icon

With one notable exception, the firms that make up what we know as Wall Street have always been part of an inbred, insular culture that most people only vaguely understand. The exception was Merrill Lynch, a firm that revolutionized the stock market by bringing Wall Street to Main Street, setting up offices in far-flung cities and towns long ignored by the giants of finance. Merrill Lynch was not only “bullish on America,” it was a big reason why so many average Americans were able to grow wealthy by investing in the stock market.

Merrill Lynch was an icon. Its sudden decline, collapse, and sale to Bank of America was a shock. How did it happen? Why did it happen? And what does this story of greed, hubris, and incompetence tell us about the culture of Wall Street that continues to this day even though it came close to destroying the American economy?

Greg Farrell’s Crash of the Titans is a Shakespearean saga of three flawed masters of the universe. E. Stanley O’Neal, whose inspiring rise from the segregated South to the corner office of Merrill Lynch—where he engineered a successful turnaround—was undone by his belief that a smooth-talking salesman could handle one of the most difficult jobs on Wall Street. Because he enjoyed O’Neal’s support, this executive was allowed to build up an astonishing $30 billion position in CDOs on the firm’s balance sheet, at a time when all other Wall Street firms were desperately trying to exit the business. After O’Neal comes John Thain, the cerebral, MIT-educated technocrat whose rescue of the New York Stock Exchange earned him the nickname “Super Thain.” He was hired to save Merrill Lynch in late 2007, but his belief that the markets would rebound led him to underestimate the depth of Merrill’s problems. Finally, we meet Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis, a street fighter raised barely above the poverty line in rural Georgia, whose “my way or the highway” management style suffers fools more easily than potential rivals.

The merger itself turns out to be a bizarre combination of cultures that blend like oil and water, where slick Wall Street bankers suddenly find themselves reporting to a cast of characters straight out of the Beverly Hillbillies. BofA’s inbred culture, which perceived New York banks its enemies, was based on loyalty and a good-ol’-boy network in which competence played second fiddle to blind obedience.

Crash of the Titans is a financial thriller that puts you in the theater as the historic events of the financial crisis unfold. Its wealth of never-before-revealed information and focus on two icons of corporate America make it the book that puts together all the pieces of the Wall Street disaster.

©2010 Greg Farrell (P)2010 Random House Audio

Reseñas de la Crítica

"Farrell weaves his facts into a story...piling detail upon detail to sketch the innerworkings of Merrill Lynch, which he calls the Wall Street firm that made it possible foraverage Americans to reap handsome returns in the stock market." (USA Today)

"The...financial crisis's answer to Game Change - John Heilemann and Mark Halperin's tattle-filled best seller about the 2008 Presidential election - Farrell shows that...seemingly trivial matters became the obsessions of Wall Street executives as the subprime contagion spread." (BusinessWeek)

“Farrell tells a story based on hundreds of hours of interviews that builds like a hurricane.” (Forbes.com)

Not Bad

Great narration. Slow at first, a lot of names that I forgot shortly after they were said. However, deeper into the chapters really held my attention. Interesting story.

The description of the inner workings is fabulous

Great story and well written. Moved with speed and excitement which is sort of shocking for a business book

The Merrill Perspective

There are a number books available dealing with aspects of the financial crash. I have read a stack of them, but in Crash of the Titans Greg Farrell takes a different direction by telling the story from the perspective of Merrill Lynch. For years, Merrill was been a breed apart on Wall Street. Yet, the firm went under and was purchased by Bank of America (which is another story). The most interesting passages for me dealt with the management culture of Bank of America and how Merrill was managed after acquisition. In the postscript, Farrell provides a brief analysis of what went wrong and what it might mean. Essentially, he concludes that poor management decisions are not necessarily evidence of fraud. At least the Merrill stock price had some residual value. Farrell, who also authored Crash of Titans, Greg Farrell Corporate Crooks: How Rogue Executives Ripped Off Americans and Congress Helped Them Do It!, can really tell a story. It is helpful if the reader comes to the book with some understanding of the housing crisis, but the book can still be informative without that knowledge. The narration of Dan Woren is excellent.

A solid, informative read on Merrill and BoA

Greg Farrell has produced a solid, meat-and-potatoes narrative on Merrill and its acquisition by Ken Lewis during the financial crisis. Having read several books about the crisis, this one added more insight about the time sandwiched between the departure of Stan O'Neil, the hiring of John Thain, and the purchase of Merrill by BoA. Dan Woren does a great job of narrating, and overall it's a well-researched read that explains the history of how BoA grew from a little-know North Carolina bank into a banking colossus and reiterates the fundamental management problems at Merrill that lead to its demise.

Great book

Entertaining and informative. Great narration and nice story on the previous financial crisis.
A recommended ‘read’

Portrait of a Systemic Failure

This book did a fantastic job of canvasing the myriad players that had a part in the fate of Merrill Lynch. At times I found myself getting confused but the author does a good job of weaving a narrative that brings all the relevant story lines to a head at the right time. I especially liked the way the ending resolves the trajectory of some of the most colorful characters.

it reads like a drama by Shakespeare

Very interesting in depth story of the individuals who created the mess the lead to the fall of Merrill Lynch. It reads like a play with very in depth analysis of each character and the history of each firm. I couldn't stop listening and finished the book much faster than I hoped.

I feel like I was there!

Would you consider the audio edition of Crash of the Titans to be better than the print version?

yes. especially since reading a book while driving is a bad idea

What was the most compelling aspect of this narrative?

that one man can bring an institution down

Which character – as performed by Dan Woren – was your favorite?

stan o'neill

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

made me scared that this could happen

Any additional comments?

i am keeping my investments in index funds. i do not trust wall street

Incredible

The title is what grabbed me. I figured it was worth a shot, having worked in a dysfunctional department within a bank. The detail and scope of the story kept me entirely intrigued. The best quote: “The key to success is authenticity. If you can fake that, you’ve got it made.” I enjoyed the book, though the story is like witnessing a morbid car crash from which you know you should look away, but ultimately, you must see the tragedy for yourself.

But they got the gold and we got the shaft!

Overall it was a very good book and very informative. It's to bad that the same mess is continuing today.