Wednesday's Headlines: Bank of America Plans to Expand its Prime Brokerage

Bank of America plans to expand its prime brokerage to service hedge funds under Stuart Hendel, who was hired from UBS to lead the bank's prime brokerage business, according to the NYTimes. The bank slashed headcount in proprietary trading by 75 percent.

BofA's move jives with the larger trend of hedge funds on the upswing. The sector saw February gains for the second straight month, though they lagged the overall stock market, says Reuters.

Other News

UBS sees Asia profit down on higher banker pay. [Bloomberg]

ING to sell U.S. online-banking unit. [BusinessWeek]

Goldman tops M&A rankings on commodities demand in emerging markets. [Bloomberg]

Broker-dealers face crunch time on plan fee disclosure. [InvestmentNews]

Advisory firm values slip; big buying small. [InvestmentNews]

Commodities giant Glencore eyes merger with mining company Xstrata to create $100B entity. [NYTimes]

U.K.'s Atlantic Equities to buy U.S. brokerage Execution Noble. [Bloomberg]

Buyout firm BC Partners receives one of largest private equity infusions since crisis. [FT]

Deutsche Bank hopes to be a bigger player in the U.S., and build on growth in derivatives and bond trading businesses. [Financial News]

Jefferies will increase its Asia equity business to meet client demand. [Sify]

Hedge fund managers are demanding iPads to get a leg up on news and research. [Advanced Trading]

Goldman Sachs made several key appointments, including naming co-heads of M&A for the Americas. [Dealbook]