Merrill Lynch, the largest US brokerage firm, is open to a merger either with Chase Manhattan or the insurer American International Group, following the resignation of Merrill president, Mr Herbert Allison, the Wall Street Journal said yesterday.

The newspaper said Mr David Komanski, Merrill Lynch chief executive, recently met informally with Chase counterpart, Mr William Harrison.

While recent share price action does not suggest any tie-up with Chase, the potential for a blockbuster deal of some kind involving Merrill is now a hot topic on Wall Street, according to the Journal.

At Chase, bankers have been discussing how much a potential Merrill-Chase deal would cost and how the two firms would mesh in the event of a merger. Both Merrill and Chase have substantial operations in the Republic. Merrill employs 80 people while Chase has a workforce of 130.