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Mr Thain's responsibilities will include what is now in Bank of America's global corporate and investment banking (GCIB) and global wealth and investment management divisions, both of which are expected to be merged with similar functions at Merrill Lynch.

The bank has also announced that Brian Moynihan will continue as president of the global corporate and investment banking division at Bank of America until the merger, and will take on a newly created enterprise-wide role effective immediately.

Mr Moynihan will continue as president of GCIB until the merger occurs. After that, he will become president of private equity and global operations reporting to Ken Lewis, chairman and CEO of Bank of America.

Bank of America's private equity business, LaSalle global trust services, enterprise delivery and technology, legal, and supply chain management will begin reporting to Mr Moynihan immediately.

Mr Moynihan will also lead the Bank of America assessment business through the transition, working with Tom Sanzone, Merrill Lynch executive vice president and chief administrative officer, who will perform that function for Merrill Lynch. They will work to ensure that the companies come together in an optimum way to take advantage of future business opportunities. Jim Eckerle, current enterprise transition executive at Bank of America, will have that role responsible for effective and efficient transitions covering LaSalle, Countrywide and Merrill Lynch.

Mr Lewis said: 'Our company will look quite different after the merger. Brian's background in corporate development, wealth management and corporate and investment banking make him the ideal person to lead this initiative. As part of this effort, he is to ensure that we have optimized our infrastructure investments to drive growth in the merged company.'