Thain ally leaves Bank of America

Just five weeks after Nelson Chai was appointed as president of Bank of America's Asia-Pacific operations, he is stepping down.

Ki Myung Kim Hong, BoA's chief risk officer in Asia-Pacific, will take up Chai's job.

Chai worked with former Merrill Lynch chief executive John Thain at the New York Stock Exchange, and then followed Thain to Merrill, so it comes as no surprise that since Thain was pushed out of BoA by chief executive Ken Lewis on January 23, Chai decided to resign.

One rival banker says, You could view this as a case of Bank of America and Merrill Lynch bankers not blending well together, but...