free trade!

June 17 (Bloomberg) -- Charles Schwab Corp., TD Ameritrade Holding Corp. and E*Trade Financial Corp., which operate the largest independent U.S. online brokerages, fell after the Wall Street Journal reported Bank of America Corp.’s Merrill Lynch division will begin a competing service.

Merrill Lynch, the world’s largest brokerage with more than 15,000 financial advisers and about $2.2 trillion of client assets, will let customers trade stocks, mutual funds and options online starting June 21, Dean Athanasia, head of banking and the direct investment division for Bank of America Global Wealth and Investment Management, said in an interview.

Customers of Merrill Edge will pay up to $8.95 a trade depending on the size of their accounts, Athanasia said. Those with at least $25,000 in total banking and brokerage assets will get 30 free trades a month.

Schwab lost 3.4 percent to $15.24 at 3:30 p.m. in New York and reached $14.96, the lowest intraday price since April 2009. TD Ameritrade fell 3.7 percent to $16.99 and E*Trade retreated 4.6 percent to $13.51.