First Citizens Bank said Wednesday it is restructuring the leadership within its wealth management division, in the wake of its acquisition of SVB Private in March. Michael Wilson, who has led First Citizens Wealth for a decade, will now oversee both SVB Private and First Citizens Wealth. The combined wealth management group now encompasses about 900 advisors managing more than $50 billion in client assets, the company said.
After Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse earlier this year, many advisors at SVB Private decamped to other RIAs and large brokerage firms.
As part of the restructuring, Brent Ciliano, chief investment officer of First Citizens, will serve as CIO of the combined organization. Marc Horgan, executive director of wealth sales at First Citizens, will oversee personal wealth sales. Robert Nentwig, a senior managing director at SVB Private, will lead private banking and lending. Nerre Shuriah, a senior vice president and senior director of wealth planning at First Citizens, will lead wealth planning for the combined division.
In addition, Phillip Strickland, a senior director of institutional trust at First Citizens, will lead institutional sales; Gerald Banker, head of trust and fiduciary services at SVB Private, has been tapped to lead personal trust services; and Steve Gilland, executive director of private banking at First Citizens, will lead private banking operations and integration. George Shehata, a senior managing director at SVB, will oversee strategy, while David Biliter, president of First Citizens Investor Services, the bank’s broker/dealer, will continue to lead investor services.
“With our acquisition of SVB Private, it is logical and appropriate to bring our wealth and private banking activities together under a unified leadership structure,” said Hope Holding Bryant, First Citizens’ vice chairwoman and the lead executive for its General Bank, which includes the Wealth group, in a statement. “I am confident this approach will accelerate our ongoing efforts to support institutions, families and individuals with the personalized service and resources they need to grow, manage and preserve their wealth.”
A number of advisors fled SVB Private after the bank fell apart in early March, becoming the largest bank to collapse since the 2008 financial crisis. First Citizens agreed to buy SVB’s $72 billion in assets in late March at a $16.5 billion discount.
The fallout wasn’t confined to SVB alone, with Signature Bank also going under. New York Community Bancorp scooped up Signature’s assets. First Republic Bank was acquired by JP Morgan, and Credit Suisse was purchased by UBS.