Merrill Lynch reports that it is committing US$10 million to support disaster relief efforts for the September 11 tragedies.

As part of this commitment, the firm will match employee contributions to The September 11th Fund through a special matching gift program. The September 11th Fund was launched by the United Way of New York City and the New York Community Trust to provide relief to victims of the attacks in New York, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania. Every penny donated will be used to provide food, shelter and medical services, as well as grief and trauma counseling services, to victims and family members.

Employees may give to, or through, The September 11th Fund to the New York Police & Fire Widows’ & Children’s Benefit Fund, and the Twin Towers Fund, established by Mayor Rudy Giuliani.

Dave Komansky, chairman and CEO, continues to pound the message that the firm is coming back quick and strong. In a speech, he indicated that financially Merrill is in very strong shape with the most liquid, safest balance sheet it has had in its history. “While we have taken a blow to our infrastructure, we have not taken a blow to our spirit. We have relocated almost all of our people. We are gaining strength each and every hour, as far as our ability to support our business efforts around the world. We are handling a high volume of client orders and we are continuing to work through the few remaining glitches. While we expect the market to remain volatile in the short term, the fact that our clients are keeping cool and refusing to panic is a testament to all your hard work,” he said.

Merrill expects members of its Investment Banking and Research teams to begin occupying 222 Broadway at the end of this week. Environmental experts thoroughly examined the building, and test results indicated the building is clean and the air is safe to breathe.