Wells Fargo Private Bank is relocating its Greenwich office to bigger quarters headed by a new regional managing director for Connecticut, whose New York counterpart is also new. They represent, they said recently, a growth story.
Senior Vice President Emily Dreas, Wells Fargo Private Bank”™s new regional managing director for Connecticut, is joined in the leadership posts by a new cross-border managing director for New York, Robert DiDiano, who also is a Wells Fargo senior vice president.
- Emily Dreas
A typical Wells Fargo Private Bank client has $5 million to $10 million in liquid assets. “But we make allowances for small-business owners because we recognize that if you are a small-business owner, your liquid assets could very well be in your business,” Dreas said
“This is a growth story,” DiDiano said, calling in to participate in an Fairfield County Business Journal on-site office interview with Dreas. DiDiano”™s office is in Manhattan, but he oversees the private bank”™s White Plains and Long Island offices, too.
“We”™re working to build our markets here,” Dreas said. “Wells Fargo Private Bank is well known on the West Coast. Here, we”™re a bit of an unknown story. But we”™re seeing a lot of active growth. We”™re looking to hire and we”™re looking to build.”
Dreas”™ and DiDiano”™s positions are part of a push by parent company Wells Fargo to become a better-known brand and to grow the private bank”™s East Coast presence amid four key client issues the bank has spotted:
”¢ pegging the Northeast”™s income, gift and estate taxes as “among the highest in the nation,” clients are interested in ways to minimize taxes;
Ӣ minimizing potential negative consequences of generational wealth transfer while helping to assure children are good stewards;
Ӣ providing guidance on selling or transitioning a business in a way that assures financial security, but also positively impacts family, employees and the community; and
Ӣ addressing market volatility that can impact client portfolios.
Dreas”™ new office is 1 Lafayette Place in Greenwich where 35 people began working Nov. 9. The former Greenwich office was 28 Havemeyer Place. The White Plains office is 50 Main St., where 14 employees 18 months ago have grown to 20 now. DiDiano spoke from his office on E. 42nd Street in Manhattan.
Besides Dreas and DiDiano, new top staffers include in New York, Lori McNamara, regional brokerage manager for the New York suburban markets, including Long Island; and Michael Freiheit, who assumes the same duties in Greenwich.
DiDiano said intrabank cooperation is a key to the bank”™s vision and both he and Dreas stressed the importance of business banking in the Wells Fargo Private Bank equation.
“Cooperation between our business lines is a theme at Wells Fargo,” DiDiano said. “We truly think of things in terms of ”˜one Wells Fargo.”™ We are not siloed. A Wells vision is a strategic plan coupled with competent advice for clients to grow their businesses.”
Wells Fargo, which dates to 1852, has 84 community bank locations in New York state, with 34 of them in Westchester County. It has 73 in Connecticut, with 33 in Fairfield County.
Additionally, Wells Fargo maintains 48 ATMs in Fairfield County and 54 in Westchester County. It employs 500 in Westchester and 658 in Fairfield. The Fairfield branch number could go up by one; Dreas said Wells Fargo Private Bank is currently interested in a Westport site.
DiDiano said, “We”™re building on our markets here. It”™s a great story.”
(This version reflects a change in liquid assets from the $2 million range to $5 million to $10 million.)
After burning through their West Coast clientele it’s time to expand? As an “over a milliion dollar” investor (counting my husband and I’s 401 accounts) I can clearly state customer service is NOT Well’s Fargo’s priority. We had all our bank accounts, mortgage, etc. with them. Recently, they made sweeping changes in their fee’s and terms to their savings, checking and credit card accounts. We received sudden account charges, which they refused to reverse. We have cancelled most of our accounts and moved elsewhere…..just handling the tail end of the rest now. Wells Fargo have become greedy and short sighted.