Fulton Financial hires new CFO, UBS senior exec leaves firm

July 26, 2024 3:05 PM

In this week's banking news roundup: Fulton Financial taps Valley National's Richard Kraemer as its new CFO; UBS' veteran private banker Jenny Su has left the firm; Bank of America names Kevin Brunner head of global technology, media and telecommunications investment banking; and more.

Fulton Financial hires new CFO from Valley National

Following the abrupt departure of its chief financial officer in February, Fulton Financial in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, has recruited its next finance chief from one of its larger Northeast banking peers. Richard Kraemer, who was most recently the treasurer and deputy CFO at Valley National Bank in Morristown, New Jersey, will join the $30 billion-asset Fulton in early September as its CFO "designee," Fulton said in a press release. He will become Fulton's CFO in the fourth quarter when interim CFO Betsy Chivinski retires, the release said. Chivinski has been temporarily filling the role since Mark McCollom, who had been CFO since 2018, unexpectedly resigned.

Kraemer, meanwhile, has spent more than six years at Valley National in various roles, such as investor relations officer and chief financial services officer, according to his LinkedIn profile. He was named treasurer and deputy CFO in February 2023. In his new role, Kraemer — who will report to Fulton Chairman and CEO Curt Myers — will oversee accounting, treasury, corporate development, tax, financial planning and forecasting, and investor relations. He will also advise the Office of the CEO and the board of directors on all financial matters, the company said.

Kraemer's move from Valley National to Fulton comes amid an industrywide shuffle of CFOs, in part because some faster-growing banks want CFOs with larger bank experience. With about $61 billion of assets, Valley National is about twice the size of Fulton. — Allissa Kline

UBS veteran China private banker Su leaves firm after 19 years

UBS Group's senior private-bank executive Jenny Su has left, weeks after three earlier departures on her team, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Su had been on leave since May before departing the Swiss bank this month, according to the people who asked not to be named as the information is private. Most of her 19-year tenure was spent handling clients from the Greater China region in Singapore, according to her LinkedIn profile.

The topic of China wealth in Singapore has been in the spotlight, particularly given the influx of flows from the country in recent years. When 10 people of Chinese origin were arrested last year in the nation's biggest money-laundering scandal, the case also raised scrutiny over the role of banks in helping to police foreign wealth. — Chanyaporn Chanjaroen, Denise Wee and Low De Wei, Bloomberg News

Bank of America names Brunner head of TMT investment banking

Bank of America has named Kevin Brunner as head of global technology, media and telecommunications investment banking, according to an internal memo seen by Bloomberg News.

New York-based Brunner is replacing Sam Powers, who is leaving Bank of America to pursue an opportunity outside of the banking industry. Powers will join Advance, the parent company of media group Condé Nast, as chief development officer later this year, according to a separate statement.

Brunner will also serve as co-chair of global mergers and acquisitions and report to Alex Bettamio and Thomas Sheehan, co-heads of global investment banking.

Brunner joined Bank of America in 1999 and most recently served as co-head of global M&A alongside Ivan Farman. Farman will continue in his role. A representative for Bank of America confirmed the contents of the memo. — Liana Baker and Ryan Gould, Bloomberg News

Wells Fargo hires Deutsche’s Cho to run technology M&A team

Wells Fargo has hired Tom Cho as head of its team advising technology companies on mergers and acquisitions, according to a person familiar with the matter, as it continues to strengthen its corporate and investment bank.

Cho will join as a managing director in San Francisco and report to Jeff Hogan, head of global M&A at Wells Fargo, the person said, asking not to be identified discussing confidential information.

He joins from Deutsche Bank, where he spent about 20 years, most recently as head of tech, media and telecommunications M&A. Cho will see out a period of gardening leave before taking up his new role, the person said.

A representative for Wells Fargo confirmed the hire but declined to comment further. A spokesperson for Deutsche Bank didn't immediately provide comment. — Liana Baker, Bloomberg News

Deutsche Bank hires Dan Rossi from UBS as a credit trader

Deutsche Bank has hired Daniel Rossi from UBS Group as a director in its investment-grade credit trading unit, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Rossi left UBS at the end of May and is expected to start his new role as soon as next week, one of the people said. Deutsche Bank confirmed the hire but declined to comment further. Both Rossi and a representative for UBS declined to comment.

In June 2022, Rossi started at UBS, where he was a credit trader, according to his LinkedIn profile. He also previously worked for Societe Generale SA, Nomura and Morgan Stanley, according to LinkedIn. — Caleb Mutua, Bloomberg News

Goldman installs JPMorgan’s Bryon Lake to boost public franchise

Goldman Sachs Asset Management wants its star hire from rival JPMorgan Asset Management to provide a shot-in-the-arm to the firm's public-market franchise.

Bryon Lake, who starts Monday as a New York-based partner, will serve as GSAM's chief transformation officer, a newly created role, according to a press release. Lake is expected to better bundle the firm's different public-market offerings — such as exchange-traded funds and separately managed accounts — in a bid to gain ground in a fiercely competitive investment arena, according to Goldman's Marc Nachmann.

"Our heritage has always been — on the investing side — we've always been active investors," Nachmann, Goldman's global head of asset and wealth management, said in an interview. "I would say we've probably been less-good on packaging, marketing and broad appeal. And so when you think about what Bryon's done, he's obviously done a phenomenal job on the active ETF side and growing that business." — Katie Greifeld, Bloomberg News

UBS dealmaker Von Hardenberg to leave lender after 24 year stint

UBS Group's head of financial institutions in Germany, Austria and the Nordic is set to leave after 24 years at the lender, according to an internal memo.

Florian von Hardenberg, who is based in Frankfurt, is leaving to explore new opportunities outside of investment banking, the memo said. FIG advisory — helping financial institutions with strategic moves and capital measures — has long been an area of strength for the Swiss lender in Germany and Austria.

Von Hardenberg will be handing over ongoing projects in the coming weeks, the memo said. UBS declined to comment. — Jan-Henrik Förster, Bloomberg News