Concerns about the dual roleandinfluence of Merrill and other pension advisers are coming to the fore because of the Securities and Exchange Commission examination of the pension-consulting business in general.
Mr Spitzer claims that the bankers on this committee would have been reluctant to complain about Mr Grasso's excessive pay, since they had a clear incentive to get along with him: he had a regulatory roleand some influence over other regulatory bodies, such as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).