Barclays co-chief economist to go to BofA

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Ethan Harris, the co-chief U.S. economist at Barclays (BARC.L) Barclays Capital unit, is leaving that investment bank for Bank of America (BAC.N), people close to the decision said on Friday.

Harris joined Barclays last year when it acquired parts of his former employer, Lehman Brothers Holdings (LEHMQ.PK), where he had worked since 1996 and been chief economist. Lehman filed for bankruptcy protection in September.

It was not immediately clear when Harris will leave Barclays. It was also unclear when he will join Bank of America Merrill Lynch, the largest U.S. bank's corporate and investment banking unit, or what his role will be there.

The people close to the decision were given anonymity because Harris' move has not been made public. Bank of America and Barclays declined to comment.

In March, Bank of America lost its chief North American economist, David Rosenberg, who defected to Canadian wealth management company Gluskin Sheff & Associates (GS.TO).

According to his Lehman biography, Harris and his team in 2006 won the top ranking among economists for the fixed-income poll of Institutional Investor magazine.

Before joining Lehman, Harris worked for nine years at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, including as research officer in charge of the domestic division and as the assistant to the bank's president, and was for several years an international economist at JPMorgan, according to the biography.

He has a bachelor's degree in economics from Clark University and a doctorate in economics from Columbia University, the biography shows.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel; editing by John Wallace, Richard Chang)