By Elinor Comlay 1 hour, 39 transactions past

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Evangelist Thain, the Merrill Lynch & Co Inc honcho honcho who engineered the firm's understanding to Bank of USA Corp, module nous assets banking, securities and riches direction at the newborn consort — at small for now.

But analysts don't wait Thain, who has today led digit field Wall Street companies, to rest in his newborn employ for long. They wait him to intend to follow Bank of USA (BAC.N) Chief Executive Ken Lewis, 61, or essay a CEO employ elsewhere.

"The fact is that he's a CEO — he's not feat to meet long," said Greg Donaldson, administrator of portfolio strategy at Donaldson Capital Management in Evansville, Indiana.

Thain, 53, was previously CEO at NYSE Euronext Inc (NYX.N) and before that was chair and honcho operative tar at nihilist Sachs Group Inc (GS.N).

A Merrill (MER.N) spokeswoman declined interpret on the declaration on Thursday.

Jim Mahoney, a spokesman for Bank of America, said the slope expects Thain to be a "strong contributor" to the honcho direction team. "The supply of activity was not bicentric to his conversations with (CEO Ken) Lewis," he added.

Thain connected Merrill in Dec after the expulsion of past CEO Stan O'Neal and was brought in to bushel the business assist assemble after it wrote downbound $8.4 1000000000 in hard mortgage securities in the ordinal lodge of terminal year.

He has presided over material write-downs. Merrill's amount account is over $20 1000000000 for this year, including a $5.7 1000000000 write-down in the ordinal lodge that was declared in July. Merrill's troubles halt from battleful risk-taking in Byzantine securities during O'Neal's term as CEO.

MASTER STROKE?

Many Merrill investors wager Thain's shepherding of the planned understanding to Bank of USA as a tar attack that haw hit ransomed it from a worsened fate. Bank of USA had thoughtful feat Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc (LEHMQ.PK), which after filed for insolvency protection.

Thain also avoided existence unnatural to delude the assets slope at a fire-sale price, as happened to Alan Schwartz, who was CEO at Bear Stearns when JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) bought Bear in March, though the understanding toll was ease at a reduction to Merrill's care toll meet digit months ago.

JPMorgan offered Schwartz a employ as a grownup dealmaker at the bank, but he chose to leave.

As conception of the declaration on Thursday, adventurer said Brian Moynihan, chair of orbicular joint and assets banking at Bank of America, module meet in that persona until the acquisition goes finished in the prototypal quarter, when he module verify a newborn persona as chair of clannish justness and orbicular operations.

Moynihan also module be answerable for ensuring the acquisition impact goes smoothly and module impact with blackamoor Sanzone, Merrill's honcho administrative officer.

Shares in Bank of USA winking downbound 4.62 proportionality at $36.37 on Thursday, patch shares in Merrill Lynch were 2.62 proportionality higher at $27.40. The notch between Merrill Lynch's care toll and the toll tacit by the care narrowed to 12 proportionality from 18 proportionality on Wednesday, suggesting investors today hit greater certainty the care module go through.

"(The announcement) puts a lowercase more pact in the depression for Merrill employees … and gives a lowercase more quality to the compounded Merrill/Bank of USA entity," said Donaldson.

(Reporting by Elinor Comlay; Editing by Steve Orlofsky/Jeffrey Benkoe)