Culture, “movement of talent” and cross-border M&A are among the priorities for Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s investment bank, according to Karim Assef, who has just been named co-head of global investment banking alongside Diego De Giorgi.

In the new leadership set-up, New York-based Assef and London-based De Giorgi will continue to report to Christian Meissner, head of global corporate & investment banking, who announced the pair's appointments in a memo to staff on Wednesday.