Although many of the financial firms that lost their offices in the World Trade Center attacks have decamped for mid-town, or other locales away from Wall Street, Merrill Lynch is planning a ceremony next week to mark its triumphant return.

Merrill executives, chairman & CEO David Komansky and president & COO Stan O’Neal, will be joined by New York’s governor George Pataki, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and senator Charles Schumer to officially mark the firm’s homecoming to lower Manhattan.

The ceremony will be held at 09:00 ET on Wednesday, March 27, at 2 World Financial Center. Merrill Lynch recently started returning personnel to 2 World Financial Center, one of its headquarter buildings damaged in the September 11 attacks.

The firm returned to 4 World Financial Center, which was virtually undamaged but inaccessible for several weeks, at the end of October 2001. Headquarters staff also occupy space in nearby 222 Broadway, which was undamaged.