First Union Corp. last week named Christian W. Wolf and David R. Terry to head the bank's expanding private placements group.
The appointments of the two managing directors were among a series of hirings and promotions of executives with ex{ensive Wall Street experience that underscore the $72 billlion-asset bank's recent strategic inititive to expand capital-raising services.
"They're trying to be of service to their natural customers," laid Richard Stillinger, an analyst at Keefe Bruyette & Woods Inc. who follows Southeastern banks. He said the Charlotte, N.C, bank hopes to attract new clients and cement relationships with existing ones.
The expanded capital markets service "draws upon expertise they've had for some time," Mr. Stillinger said.
"NationsBank is the other Southeastern bank that has had a lot of experience and expertise," in the capital markets, he added. "Most of the banks I follow have no immediate plans to have a broad thrust even resembling what NationsBank and First Union plan."
Mr. Wolf, 38, has 11 years of broad-based capital markets experience with J.P. Morgan & Co and NationsBank Corp.
Mr. Terry, 38, joined First Union in 1990 after heading a proprietary risk unit for Citicorp and starting a U.S. trading operation in New York for the Finnish corporation KansallisOsake-Pankki.
At First Union, Mr. Terry has headed a product development unit and was responsible for the structuring and distribution of private securities.
The private placements group structures and markets senior and subordinated debt, preferred stock, and other equity securities to institutional investors.
"Since the capital markets' reorganization in January, client response to our private placements team and other specialized capital markets group has been extremely positive," said Jerry Schmitt, managing director of First Union Capital Markets.
The staff of the group includes more than 750 specialists in such-fields as private placements, structured finance, assetbased financing, leasing, foreign exchange, underwriting, merger and acquistition, and derivatives.
Earlier the bank announced the appointment of Steven W. Hoagland, a former regional manager of credit products for BankAmerica Corp., as managing director of capital markets sales.
Gary Luciani, previously an associate in the private finance group at J.P. Morgan Securities, was named vice president in First Union's private placements group.
And Marijane Boyle, a former, vice president at Bankers Trust New York Corp. with 23 years of corporate finance experience, was named a managing director of First Union's Healthcare Finance Group.
As reported, the bank also is expected to announce the appointment Michael Greco, a former senior vice president of Donaldson, Lufldn & Jenrette Securities Corp., as a managing director in charge of real estate securitization.
