Claudio Aguirre, head of investment banking in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) at Merrill Lynch, is to step away from day-to-day management to become chairman of the business.

He will make the move to spend more time with clients. Sam Chapin, head of global investment banking at Merrill, said in an internal memo: "Claudio has been wanting for a while to focus more of his time on clients and to reduce his administrative responsibilities."