BoA says decision to release Bianco not linked to his upbeat report on the US stock markets, which was panned by critics A top strategist at Bank of America has been shown the door just three days after releasing an upbeat report on the US stock markets. Earlier this week, David Bianco, chief equity strategist at Bank of America’s Merrill Lynch, issued a research note in which he predicted the S&P 500 index of the US’s top companies would rally substantially this year.