Bank of America Merrill Lynch has kicked off a vigorous expansion programme to try and challenge the dominance of its US banking rivals, which includes hiring 70 senior investment bankers.

The move, which follows a slump in revenues and a number of senior defections, is part of an ambitious attempt by Matthew Koder, BAML’s new head of corporate and investment banking, to propel it into the ranks of the three best-performing banks across all its business lines and in all the regions where it operates.