Merrill Lynch's most senior investment banker in the increasingly important Middle East region is in discussions with Credit Suisse Group about taking a senior position at the Swiss bank, according to two people familiar with the matter.

Jeffrey Culpepper, Merrill Lynch's head of global markets and investment banking in the Middle East and North Africa, is in final discussions with Credit Suisse about a senior role in the bank's Middle Eastern operations although "nothing has been signed yet," one person said.