Korean Kabuki: Enter Merrill

Korea is also in the market for junk Merrill assets. Seems like an odd reaction to a sliding currency and economy. Merrill May Fail to Sell Bad Loans to Korea Asset (Update1)

By Bomi Lim

Sept. 4 (Bloomberg) -- Merrill Lynch & Co.'s talks to sell a ``significant'' amount of nonperforming loans to Korea Asset Management Corp. are faltering because of a dispute over price, the Korean firm's chief executive officer said.

``We have yet to reach an agreement because of differences in assessing the value of assets,'' Lee Chol Hwi said yesterday in an interview in Seoul. ``We have been seeking to buy a significant amount, but a deal may be difficult at this rate.''

Merrill CEO John Thain, who took over in December, has sold assets and disposed of mortgages at a discount to keep the third- largest U.S. securities firm afloat amid more than $50 billion of credit market losses. Lee, 55, said state-run Korea Asset can afford to be patient because the U.S. financial crisis is likely to deepen, adding that he's also in talks about buying bad loans from companies including Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.