BofA appointed two Chiefs of M&A in Asia

Bank of America Merrill Lynch selected two bank veterans to head its mergers and acquisitions division in the Asia-Pacific region in place of its lost senior female investment banker.

According to an internal memo of BofA, Michael Cho will head M&A for Asia and David Petrie will be in the same role for Australia. The role was split after Kalpana Desai, Asia head of M&A, had left her post.

After Merrill Lynch is being acquired by Bank of America Corp a mass departure of former Merrill Lynch & Co. bankers continues. The chairwoman of its China investment banking business, Margaret Ren, left earlier this month. 

According to data provider Dealogic, Bank of America Merrill Lynch has dropped from first place to sixth on the M&A league table for the Asia-Pacific region excluding Japan.

Thus, Mr. Cho is taking up a tough job. As he said his background as a Korean American and his 13 years of job experience in M&A in North Asia would be an advantage as cash-rich Korean, Chinese and Indian companies compete to acquire overseas assets.