Merrill Lynch co-president Ahmass Fakahany will step down after subprime mortgages led to a $9.8 billion fourth-quarter loss, the firm said today. Fakahany is at least the third exec from Stan O'Neal's team to leave since John Thain took over as CEO, reports Bloomberg. Thain replaced O'Neal in October following almost-as-horrifying third-quarter losses.
The decision hasn't been made public, but Merrill is expected to announce Fakahany's departure soon. When he was promoted in May 2007, O'Neal called him one of the "strongest leaders of the organization." He had joined Merrill in 1987. The security firm's other co-president, Greg Fleming, will remain under Thain. (More Merrill Lynch stories.)