Watts widens Merrill’s horizons

What's the signiWcance of Merrill Lynch's decision to appoint a British banker, Kevan Watts, in London as co-head of its global investment banking group? "The location is clearly a large part of it but my background outside the US also played a role," Watts says. Watts joined Merrill in 1981 and spent 17 years toiling for it outside the US. He worked in advisory and Wnance for UK clients in the 1980s and recalls Xoating Euromoney in 1986 at £4.60 a share. "It's been a very successful company," he says.