Stan O’Neal is expected to step down as chief executive of Merrill Lynch, making him the biggest casualty of the recent credit market turmoil. A majority of the Wall Street bank’s board have lost confidence in his leadership, say people close to the situation. Observers believe the board is likely to choose an external candidate to succeed Mr O’Neal, with speculation focusing on Larry Fink, 54, head of BlackRock. The top internal candidates are Greg Fleming, 44, a banker who is now co-president, and Bob McCann, 49, who heads Merrill’s brokerage business. Lex thinks that Merrill’s board had little choice - and an outsider, untainted by the recent debacle, looks most sensible as a replacement. Whoever that might be will have to make a rapid decision on whether to ratchet back Merrill’s risk appetite.
