LONDON - US BANK Merrill Lynch has suspended a currency trader in its London office after he ran up suspected losses of more than US$400 million (S$600 milllion), the Financial Times reported.

Quoting 'people familiar with the situation', the newspaper's Saturday edition said the trader had been suspended after trades on Norwegian and Swedish currencies went wrong.

The losses, if confirmed, will cause more financial headaches for Bank of America , the vast banking and investment house that bought Merrill Lynch last September.

In a statement issued earlier on Friday, Merrill said it was investigating an 'irregularity' in its London trading positions.

'Senior managers of the business are focused on the issue and believe the risks surrounding possible losses are under control,' the company said in a statement.

The sum involved pales in comparison to the 4.9 billion euros (S$9.5 billion) lost by Societe Generale trade Jerome Kerviel in 2007 and the US$1.4 billon that Barings trader Nick Leeson lost in 1995, an amount that sunk his bank. -- REUTERS