Merrill used Stevenson's stock pledge to issue a type of convertible security it calls Strypes, which other firms market with acronyms such as Decs and Traces.

FORBES: The Lauders did it. So did Craig McCaw and Ronald Perelman.

The pledge helped boost stock markets on Monday, with Wall Street's Dow Jones index rising 3%, albeit on low volumes.

BBC: Eurozone bailout fund faces key Slovakian vote