The meltdown of Merrill Lynch picked up pace today, as Bank of America lost its top M&A investment banker to a boutique investment bank.

The Wall Street Journal reported today that Merrill Lynch's Alan Hartman is leaving Bank of America, which acquired Merrill, to go to Centerview Partners, a fifty person outfit in New York. 

"Mr. Hartman, known for his work with health-care companies, is currently head of mergers and acquisitions for the Americas at Bank of America. Two other senior Merrill Lynch health-care bankers, Richard Girling and Mark Robinson, are joining Mr. Hartman at Centerview," Dennis Berman writes.

Recently, Merrill Lynch has been plauged by high level defections. Many employees have left for boutiques or foreign banks, which haven't received TARP money and so aren't subject to salary caps. Morgan Stanley has also hired Merrill Lynch brokers, however, so Merrill and Bank of America can't blame all the defections on the salary caps.