Mr Keating will be based in London, reporting to Nick Tucker, market leader of Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Management for the UK and Ireland.

Prior to joining Merrill, Mr Keating was a financial advisor at Prudential-Bache International, and was previously with Citigroup Global Markets in London.

Nick Tucker said: “The appointment of Andrew to the advisory team will help us to further expand the wealth management services we offer our clients in the U.K. and Ireland.”

Merrill Lynch, which has assets under management of approximately $1.5 trillion, is currently engaged in a Bank of America takeover, which is expected to be complete by the end of the year.