By James Langton

(December 5 – 12:45 ET) – The first attempt to offer integrated banking and brokerage services online worldwide got its launch in Canada this morning as banking giant HSBC Holdings plc and brokerage giant Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. debuted their global collaboration.

The new joint venture, Merrill Lynch HSBC Canada Inc. rolled out this morning. It is the first step in a global effort, that includes a simultaneous kick off today in the U.K., and will see Australia go live December 18, followed later by Germany, Japan and Hong Kong

The two firms are billing the new offering as the ultimate tool for the self-directed investor. The service offers online banking and brokerage services through the Merrill Lynch HSBC Web site (http://www.client.mlhsbc.ca), or over the phone.

The new service essentially builds on top of HSBC’s existing online brokerage effort in Canada, HSBC Invest Direct; while also bringing an online option for Merrill clients that want to manage at least some of their portfolio directly. Merrill Lynch will provide back office support.

The service charges a basic fee of $29 per trade for Canadian stocks for up to 1,000 shares, with a $35 fee on U.S. trades. It also offers fixed-income and access to the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong listings.

The service is based on a new account, branded the Investment Access Portfolio, which gives clients direct access to the cash and available margin in their trading accounts through debit cards and cheques. It also offers chequing on U.S. dollar accounts. Merrill Lynch HSBC promises that early next year online bill payments and transfers will be available, too.

The Canadian initiative was officially launched today in Toronto at a presentation hosted by Merrill Lynch HSBC chief executive Ed Goldberg and Peter Hickman, CEO of Merrill Lynch HSBC Canada, a wholly owned subsidiary of the new London, U.K.-based joint venture. Hickman previously ran InvestDirect for HSBC, and was also with BMO InvestorLine before that.

Hickman pitched the new service as a research-focused product. For a $5,000 account minimum, clients of the new service get unlimited access to research from 1,100 analysts at Merrill Lynch and HSBC. Everything from morning call notes to in-depth research will be available instantly. “This is the first time individual investors have had unlimited access to this quality of research,” said Hickman.

In addition, the site offers research from Argus, Bell Charts, First Call, MPL, Standard and Poor’s, The Fund Strategist, Vickers and Zacks. It also promises news from a broad selection of news agencies, including Business Wire, Canada NewsWire, Knight Ridder and United Press International.

Although the new service received its official launch today, it actually went live on December 1 with existing InvestDirect clients. Hickman says the service currently has about 70,000 accounts and is targeting 60% account growth over the next year. It currently holds about 4% of online trading in Canada, and is targeting a 10% share.

Goldberg admitted that some Merrill clients would likely shift from its full-service offering to this new online venture. But said, at the risk of cannibalization, it prefers to keep clients from going elsewhere for an online option.

The firm plans to launch an extensive advertising campaign after Christmas, in time for RRSP season.