Bank of America Merrill Lynch is bolstering its operations in China with the appointment of a new executive.
The bank has hired Margaret Ren to lead its Chinese operations, according to an internal memorandum obtained by DealBook. Ms. Ren joins the company from BNP Paribas, where she was the corporate finance chairman for greater China.
Ms. Ren is a daughter-in-law of Zhao Ziyang, a former general secretary of China's Communist Party. She has “extensive knowledge of, and deep relationships with, the Chinese financial and corporate sectors,†according to the internal memorandum.
As country executive and chairman of Bank of America Merrill Lynch in China, Ms. Ren will report to Matthew Koder, the bank's president for the Asia-Pacific region.
Interacting with clients will be a crucial part of her new role, as the bank looks to win more business in the region. The move is a homecoming of sorts for Ms. Ren, who was chairman of China investment bankin g for Merrill Lynch from 2007 to 2009.
Ms. Ren made headlines in 2004 when she was suspended from Citigroup after regulators began looking into a deal she worked on, the I.P.O. of the China Life Insurance Company. But she was cleared of any wrongdoing by the Securities and Exchange Commission in 2006.
