Merrill Lynch Plans to Relax Ban on Some Commission-Based IRAs

Bank of America Corp.’s Merrill Lynch is relaxing its ban on commissions for some individual retirement accounts, reversing an earlier move aimed at complying with the U.S. Department of Labor’s fiduciary rule.

The brokerage will create a limited-purpose, commission-based account that can be initially used by customers to hold cash and bank deposits only, according to a memo to staff May 11 from Andy Sieg, Bank of America’s wealth-management chief.

Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, UBS Group AG, Charles Schwab Corp. and TD Ameritrade are among firms that have changed their fee structures and operations to comply with the Department ...