Tensions are on the rise again between Bank of America's brass and Merrill Lynch's 15,000-person brokerage force known as the "thundering herd" as the company pushes them to sell checking accounts and other retail-banking products to their clients. In an effort to boost its banking deposits, sources told The Post that BofA has been pressing its army of brokers and advisers to convince investor clients to move their savings and checking accounts and other banking services to the embattled financial giant. Some brokers have resisted the effort, arguing that selling retail- banking services is neither profitable for them nor terribly useful to their clients, who are often wealthy individuals. "I want to focus on the markets - and that's challenging enough," said one broker who asked not to be identified. "It's the job of the branch managers" to help build up the bank's deposits, said a second broker. This round of rancor between the brokers and BofA bosses intensified last week over financial rewards to broker assistants who'd signed up clients as consumer-banking customers. They were offered $50 per sale, at least double what they'd been offered in the past, sources said. The move irritated some brokers, who say the tactic interferes with their ability to control what products are presented to clients. "We are proud to offer one of the deepest and most sophisticated portfolios of financial solutions in the industry," Lyle LaMothe, head of Merrill's US Wealth Management, said in an e-mailed statement, "and as advisers our job is to make sure our clients are aware of the full breadth of resources and tools available to them." Brokers say they're also annoyed by a mass e-mail campaign pitching BofA's banking services to their clients - although they can remove client names from the list before letters are distributed. "Moving your banking to Bank of America is easy," one letter declares, with a promise of an undisclosed cash bonus for accounts with at least $10,000 in new funds. It's not the first time bank bosses have had to deal with unhappy Merrill brokers. Earlier this year, many brokers bemoaned how the bonus- payment flap, which eventually led to the dethroning of BofA chief Ken Lewis, was tarnishing their otherwise sterling reputation. Later, grousing spiked over retention bonuses that paled in comparison to what rivals were offering. Nestor Vicknair, a Merrill branch manager in Houston and an advocate of the campaign to bring clients under one roof, dismissed the complainers as "antiquated" in not being able to see that the industry is headed in that direction. He added that while banking services aren't very profitable for brokers, they do help to retain their clients. --- Red flag Merrill's "thundering herd" of investment managers are making noise about Bank of America's push to have them sell retail- banking products to their clients. BULLS' HEARD FROM: 'I want to focus on the markets and that's challenging enough.' 'It's the job of the branch managers [to help build up the bank's deposits.]' - two Merrill Lynch brokers who spoke on the condition of anonymity

Originally published by KAJA WHITEHOUSE.

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