BoA Merrill appoints co-heads of Asia industrials investment banking

Bank of America Merrill Lynch has appointed Patrick Steinemann and Richard Zhang as co-heads of its Asia industrials investment banking team, according to a memo the firm sent to staff yesterday.

The appointments come during a tough period for many global investment banks in Asia, which have struggled amid subdued Asian equity markets. BoA Merrill responded in January by cutting 15 managing directors in an effort to slim down its business in the region. Globally, it is striving to eliminate 30,000 jobs during the next few years as part of an effort to cut $5 billion from its annual costs by 2014.

But the bank said...