Merrill's former EMEA equities head to leave

LONDON, Jan 8 (Reuters) - Brent Clapacs, the former head of equities in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) at Merrill Lynch, has decided to leave the firm after its acquisition by Bank of America (BAC.N) was completed last week.

Clapacs, 45, is leaving after a 17-year career at Merrill in order to move to the United States with his family, according to an internal memo dated Jan. 7 and seen by Reuters on Thursday.

A Merrill Lynch spokeswoman confirmed the contents of the memo.

Clapacs headed European equities until the end of last year. On Jan. 1, when the takeover of Merrill closed, he took up the position of co-head of European markets together with David Gu.

Clapacs' role will be covered in the near term by Mike Stewart, co-head of global equities with Tom Patrick.

Earlier this week, Merrill's brokerage head Bob McCann also announced his plans to step down from the firm. In December the departure of Bob Wigley, Merrill's former EMEA chairman, was also announced to staff.

Many Merrill executives have retained top jobs at the combined bank, including former chief executive John Thain who is now president of global banking, securities and wealth management. (Reporting by Olesya Dmitracova, additional reporting by Elinor Comlay in New York; Editing by Jon Loades-Carter)