Banc of America Securities-Merrill Lynch Research has bolstered its research team with a couple of new hires, the company said Monday.

Ethan Harris is joining the firm as head of North America economics. He comes to BofA-Merrill from Barclays, formerly Lehman Brothers, where he was the chief U.S. economist since 2003. He will be responsible for formulating and communicating the North America economic outlook and the Fed interest rate call, and will work in partnership with the firm’s rates strategy research team on longer term yield curve forecasts. Harris will start in September.

Prior to joining Lehman in 1996, Harris worked at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York for nine years. Previously, he worked for several years as an international economist at J.P. Morgan.

Additionally, David Bianco is to become the firm’s head of U.S. equity strategy. Bianco, who will start in July, comes from UBS where he most recently served as chief U.S. equity portfolio strategist and head of U.S. valuation and accounting research. He will deliver U.S. equity strategy recommendations, including sector, industry, and size and style, forecasting the S&P 500 earnings outlook and authoring thematic research.

Prior to joining UBS in 2002, Bianco worked at Deutsche Bank as chief U.S. quantitative strategist and at Credit Suisse First Boston as a senior equity analyst.

Banc of America Securities-Merrill Lynch Research also announced strategic leadership changes in the structure of its global macro group, including the appointment of Michael Hartnett as chairman of the research investment committee. Hartnett was also named chief global equity strategist, initially tasked with developing a global equity allocation effort working with senior regional equity strategists across the department.

Walker to head Credit Swiss U.S. investment banking division

Separately, Credit Suisse has hired a new head for its American investment banking division, the Swiss bank said Monday.

The firm said that James Walker has joined the bank as a managing director and head of its Americas investment banking operations. In addition, Walker will become the head of the firm’s global over-the-counter operations, with worldwide responsibility for operational support for OTC derivatives, foreign exchange, loans and commodities.

Walker joins Credit Suisse from Barclays Capital in New York, where he was CFO for the Americas region. Before joining Barclays, he spent 13 years at Merrill Lynch, where he was most recently CFO of global markets and investment banking, and he spent eight years at Morgan Stanley.

IE