Hatzius was named chief economist and Wilson chief markets economist, according to an internal memo at the Wall Street giant, dated on 12 January, Bloomberg reported.

The US banking and wealth management firm declined to comment on the matter.

Both men will run economics, commodities and strategies research in the Americas, with Jeff Currie and Peter Oppenheimer responsible for Europe, the memo reportedly said.

O’Neill became known beyond the economics and investment business last year when, along with a number of fellow investors, attempted to buy Manchester United, the famous UK club, from its US owners. A profile of O’Neill described him as a “rockstar” of economics.