NEW YORK - Merrill Lynch says it third-quarter loss widened as it took more than $12 billion in charges from the sale of mortgage-related investments and fallout from the continued credit crisis.

Merrill lost $5.2 billion, or $5.58 per share, compared with a loss of $2.2 billion, or $2.82 per share, a year earlier.

Analysts, on average, forecast a loss of $5.22 per share, according to Thomson Reuters.

Merrill took a $5.7 billion write-down on the sale of complex financial instruments known as CDOs. It recorded another $3.8 billion loss tied to investments in financial firms that failed in September. New York-based Merrill also lost $2.6 billion on sales tied to additional mortgage exposure.

Merrill was sold last month to Bank of America.

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