Mike Joo, co-head of investment banking at Bank of America (BofA), is set to leave the organisation according to an internal memo seen by Reuters.

Joo has worked at the bank since 2006 and became co-head of investment banking just under a year ago, having previously held the role of head of North America global corporate and investment banking at BofA.

At the time, his appointment was understood to reflect BofA’s increased focus on middle-market transactions, specifically mergers and acquisitions valued between $500 million and $2 billion.

His exit marks the fourth executive loss for BofA this week. On 5 August, Reuters reported that Citi has poached Rohan Sen, managing director for technology investment banking, to oversee its coverage of the technology services sector. The same day, the Financial Times reported that JPMorgan Chase has poached Amy Lissauer, global head of activism and raid defence at BofA, to oversee its activism defence practice.

Ed Liu, vice chairman of ⁠technology and global head ​of software at BofA, is also reportedly leaving the firm to join a competitor according to an internal memo seen by Reuters.

BofA has also added a number of new senior staff across the same period, however. In July, it announced the hiring of nine veteran bankers at its branches across the country, including M&A specialist Bob Berry, who joined from Rothschild and ex-Rockefeller Capital Management middle-market banker Mitch Theiss who returned to BofA to add to his 19 previous years at the firm.

BofA is positioning itself to take advantage of the rising value of global M&A deals. On 1 July, the firm’s co-head of global M&A Ivan Farman told Reuters that the increased number of large deals in the space "reflects a growing view that a $1 billion to $3 billion deal takes just as much time as a larger one, so ​when an opportunity for a big transaction arises, companies see this as the moment to act”.

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