The two largest pension schemes in the US have applied to be lead plaintiffs in class action lawsuits against Bank of America's takeover of Merrill Lynch, as institutional investors unite to count the cost of Wall Street's collapse.

California Public Employees' Retirement System and the California Teachers Retirement System, worth a combined $278bn (€205bn) at the end of January, today lodged a motion with the Southern District Court of New York to take the lead in all class action cases against Bank of America stemming from its merger with Merrill Lynch.