Merrill Lynch has named Carlos Valle as the GWM group's new head at the New York International Complex. He takes over from Ricardo Morean, who, with others, left after a lawsuit against three investors caused a $78 million write-down. The new appointee joined Merrill in 1989 and held various producer and management positions in the debts markets division from 1990 to 1998, returning to the investment banking division in November of that year as managing director in the firm's private equity group. In November 2002, he joined the institutional advisor division in the Global Wealth Management unit, where he served as the national sales manager overseeing both domestic and Latin American fixed-income and equity institutional sales efforts. His appointment in the GWM group follows Merrill's needing to go to law to recoup losses of $78 million allegedly made by three members of the Safra banking family known as the Nassers.