The issue he addressed was the unauthorized trading of songs on the Internet.

Merrill Lynch attributed the loss largely to unauthorized trading by one of its senior officials, who was dismissed.

The firm said it had notified regulators of the unauthorized trading.

The group has said the money was intended to compensate it for losses from unauthorized trading in its account.

Since the unauthorized trading was first disclosed, on Feb., 6, the share price has fallen 4 percent.

The firm attributed the loss largely to unauthorized trading by a senior official who has been dismissed.

He was fired from one, accused of unauthorized trading, a charge he denied.

Though bank officials say Kerviel apparently worked alone, skeptics question how unauthorized trading of this magnitude could go unnoticed.

She said those measures would help insure that the company could not be taken advantage of by unauthorized trading in the future.

An additional $800 million, however, was purchased in unauthorized trading by a senior official who was dismissed, the firm said.