Revenue from the retail brokerage, private banking and financial planning businesses climbed 6.1 percent in the quarter to $4.7 billion from $4.4 billion a year earlier, Bank of America said Wednesday in reporting total revenue of $21.4 billion and an overall loss due to regulatory settlements.

The gains came primarily from asset management fees and referrals of wealthy people to Merrill's 14,000 brokers from tellers and other bank personnel, the bank said.

Net income from the wealth businesses jumped 13 percent from last year's third quarter to $813 million.

The showing supports efforts of Merrill Lynch Wealth Management head John Thiel and bank executives to redirect financial advisers from focusing on market returns and instead marketing investment and bank products to clients as solutions to meet long-term goals such as retirement and college funding.

Some financial advisers have complained that Merrill is losing its broker-centric culture and influence as a small part of the second largest U.S. bank company, but bank executives on Wednesday lauded the wealth unit's efforts in attracting assets and selling loans.

In a morning conference call with analysts, Bank of America Chief Executive Brian Moynihan said an expensive new managed account platform has begun paying off. The platform, called Merrill One, helps brokers attract fee-based assets and unify the way they charge clients.

Merrill asset management fees rose 16.6 percent to a post-merger record of $1.5 billion, reflecting new sales and market gains in client portfolios. Advisers moved $157 billion of client money onto Merrill One, including $37 billion of assets not previously with the company.

During the call, Chief Financial Officer Bruce Thompson noted the "record level" of loans generated by the wealth management unit. Loan balances at Merrill Wealth and the U.S. Trust private bank, including traditional brokerage margin loans, rose $2.2 billion during the third quarter to $126 billion.

Merrill and other large brokerages have lost veteran advisers in recent years who have opened independent practices. During the quarter, Merrill said it added 155 brokers, including 103 who completed its training program. Its 14,000 brokers at the end of September compares with 16,000 when it announced its sale to Bank of America in 2008.

Despite a multi-year expense cutting campaign, Bank of America also has been investing in its Merrill Edge business, which sells investments online, by phone and in branches and is part of its consumer/branch banking unit. Client assets at Merrill Edge are up 22 percent from a year ago to $108.5 billion, and the unit's broker count has grown by 283 to 1,868 advisers.

(Editing by Linda Stern and David Gregorio)

By Jed Horowitz