Bank of New York Co. has named William A. Flemer, formerly with FleetBoston Financial Corp., to head business development for its private-client services.
Mr. Flemer, who joined Bank of New York Monday, reports to Lee C. Wortham, an executive vice president and the head of private-client services.
"We've been investing and positioning for growth" in high-net-worth management, Mr. Wortham said. Specifically, the company has been hiring, opening offices, and making acquisitions.
Mr. Flemer's day-to-day responsibilities will include managing sales and developing and maintaining relationships with private clients.
At Fleet, Mr. Flemer wore a number of hats, including that of national sales manager for the private-client business. He had been with BankBoston Corp. for nine years before it merged with Fleet in 1999 and succeeds John McGuinness, who left Bank of New York a few months ago to work at PNC Financial Services Group, the company said.
Bank of New York has been shedding noncore businesses in the past several years and bulking up in custody, corporate trust, and high-net-worth asset management. In the second quarter it bought two high-net-worth asset-management firms in Massachusetts: $5 billion-asset Gannet Welsh & Kotler of Boston and $700 million-asset Beacon Fiduciary Advisors of Chestnut Hill. Terms of the deals were not disclosed.
Fueled by these deals, fees from private-client services and asset management rose 10%, to $86 million, from a year earlier. Bank of New York now manages $30 billion for private clients.
In October it will open a Morristown, N.J., branch for banking and high-net-worth business, and it has hired 10 high-net-worth specialists to work there. "We are always looking to build our platform" by region, product, and talent, Mr. Wortham said.
Prudential Securities analyst Michael Mayo said Bank of New York has "ramped up its product capability and skill set" in asset management and private-client services. "This hiring would seem consistent with the broader direction," he said.
The company also continues to run a retail banking network, mainly in New York suburbs, but top executives have told analysts that they would consider selling the network if they could use the proceeds for another deal.
That chance may have come. In recent weeks Deutsche Bank AG executives have been talking about quitting global custody to focus on core businesses, and are now expected to put their $3.7 trillion-asset global custody business up for sale next month. It is estimated the price would be $1.1 billion to $1.8 billion.
Analysts have mentioned Bank of New York as well as Citigroup Inc., State Street Corp., and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. as possible bidders.
Bank of New York could raise cash for such a bid from selling its branch network, analysts said. But a spokesman for the company said last week there are no plans to do so.
