Bank of America, which is set to complete its acquisition of Merrill Lynch this month, said on Thursday that Nelson Chai, Merrill’s chief financial officer, would head the combined banks’ Asia-Pacific businesses.

Mr Chai, who will be based in Hong Kong, became Merrill’s CFO in December 2007, shortly after John Thain became chief executive of the bank. For Mr Chai, the new post is a significant step up from his duties at Merrill. He takes on operational duties across Asia and will continue to report to Mr Thain.