Bank of America Corp., hurt by an exodus of at least 30 senior investment bankers in Europe, is falling behind rivals fighting for a shrinking pool of business.
The company slipped to 11th place in European merger advice last year after taking over Merrill Lynch & Co. in 2009, from fourth in record 2007, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Its share of investment- banking fees in Europe, the Middle East and Africa was cut by more than half, to 2.2 percent, since the acquisition, according to research firm Freeman & Co.
In response, the Charlotte, N.C.- based bank, the largest in the U.S. by assets, is planning to hire as many as 30 managing directors in the region and is counting on its ability to finance and complete deals once business improves in Europe, said Christian Meissner, head of investment banking for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
“The first priority is clearly rebuilding the talent base,” Meissner, 41, who joined in July from Nomura Holdings Inc., said in an interview last month at the bank’s European headquarters in London. “It’s easier to develop corporate dialogue while rebalancing your own business when things are relatively quiet.”
The remaking of Bank of America’s worldwide investment-banking business is being overseen by Thomas Montag, 54, a former Merrill executive who became the lender’s president of global banking and markets after the acquisition. Based in New York, Montag has been pushing to expand corporate and investment banking in Asia, where the company added almost 400 people since early 2009, and in Europe, where he hired Meissner to reverse the outflow of top bankers.
