Bank of America Corp.'s Mark Ellman is retiring next month after almost three decades advising insurers and other financial firms on capital-raising and mergers.
The dealmaker, who advised Dutch life insurer Aegon NV on its $912.5 million agreement in April to sell a reinsurance unit to Scor SE, is leaving the industry to spend more time with his family and may eventually pursue another career, said a person with direct knowledge of his decision.
Ellman, a vice chairman in the financial institutions group, joined Merrill Lynch & Co. in 2008, prior to its takeover by Bank of America. He ran the financial-institutions group at Credit Suisse Group AG with Richard Barrett before they started a private-equity firm in 2005. Previously, Ellman worked at Wasserstein Perella, Morgan Stanley, UBS AG and Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette.
Barrett was hired at Merrill Lynch with Ellman and remains at Bank of America. John Yiannacopoulos, a spokesman for the Charlotte, N.C.-based lender, confirmed Ellman’s retirement.
The investment bank, run by co-chief operating officer Thomas K. Montag, posted a $302 million loss in the third quarter on lower sales and trading revenue. The nation's second-largest lender by assets is seeking to cut costs at its investment bank and wealth-management unit after targeting $5 billion in annual savings in retail operations.
