He will also become the chief executive officer for Bank of America Malaysia Bhd and the principal officer for Bank of America NA (BANA) Labuan branch. Puntambekar (pictured) will join the board of directors of Merrill Lynch Malaysian Advisory Sdn Bhd, subject to regulatory approvals and governance processes.

In this role, Puntambekar will head all of the firm’s businesses in Malaysia and be responsible for expanding client coverage.

Puntambekar, who presently leads the firm’s Corporate Banking Subsidiaries (CBK-S) regional banking team in Singapore, will move to Kuala Lumpur. He joined the bank in India in 2005, and moved to Singapore in 2012. Puntambekar will report to Jin Su, Asia Pacific president, and continue to be a member of the South East Asia country leadership team (CLT).

The bank said the new appointment follows Malaysia country head Raymond Yeoh’s decision to retire after 10 years of service with the bank. The bank added that Yeoh’s steadfast leadership has helped it to expand its client base and deliver responsible growth in the country. In addition to his country head role, Yeoh serves as the CEO for Bank of America Malaysia Bhd, principal officer for BANA Labuan branch, and sits on the board of directors of Merrill Lynch Malaysian Advisory Sdn Bhd.

In connection with this move, Stefan Friedhoff, will expand his role to take on the Singapore and South East Asia regional CBK-S business from Puntambekar, effective 8 October. Friedhoff has over 27 years of banking experience across multiple industry verticals. Since joining the bank in 2019, he has played a critical role, the lender said, in leading the CBK-S business in South East Asia.

Friedhoff, who will continue to report functionally to Nirmal Khaderia, head of Asia Pacific Corporate Banking Subsidiaries and locally to Martin Siah, Singapore country head, will continue to be a member of the South East Asia CLT.