Bank of America suffered negative repercussions from its attempt to cross-sell its customers, an article in The Wall Street Journal reported.

The article explains that Merrill Lynch branch mangers saw a new variable in the formula that determines their yearly bonus: how much money brokerage clients have in checking and savings accounts at parent company Bank of America [bank BAC] [/stock].

As a result, some brokers complained that the new move puts the banks interest ahead of the customers, the article claims.

Efforts to get brokerage customers to refinance a mortgage often backfired with loan rejections or dismal customer service, Joshua Young, a Merrill broker for five years before he quit in December to join Oak & Reed Capital Management, said. “We’re going to hand [the client] over to this mortgage process, and then three months later they hate you,” Young added.