Those hoping the next chief executive of Merrill Lynch would reverse the revolution led by Stan O’Neal and restore the broker-driven culture that dominated Merrill for decades may be disappointed in the selection of John Thain as Mr O’Neal’s successor.

Like Mr O’Neal, Mr Thain is a former investment banker known for his cool intellectual style. As a former co-president of Goldman Sachs, Mr Thain is also steeped in the culture of risk and said in an interview yesterday that he has no plans to reverse Mr O’Neal’s strategy of pushing Merrill to use more of its own capital.