BofA official says U.S. Trust will keep Wichita presence despite departures - Wichita Business Journal:

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“ remains very much committed to the Wichita saysShawn Lancelot, market executive for the BofA subsidiarg that offers wealth management services to the wealthy in “We intend to grow our staff in this market and are experiencint great enthusiasm from top talent to join our firm and servew clients.” Four of the 11 employees for U.S. Trustg in Wichita left for othet bankssince mid-May. Doug Greenwood, a former clientr manager for U.S. Trust — now at — says he had doubte about the future of the organizationin Wichita, althoughy he wouldn’t point to a specific factodr that drove his concerns. “It wasn’t a case of our positionsd being eliminated.
I just wasn’t certainn what the future looked like where I he says. “Certainly, the company had nevefr come out andsaid Trust) would not (keep a presencer in Wichita). I wasn’t completely confident that was not goingto change.” Departuree from U.S. Trust have included a portfolip manager, a trust officer and two client managers. None of those positions have been BofA’s Lancelot says they will be. U.S. Trust is designec as a one-stop shop for the bank’s wealthiesrt customers, where they can seek trust, investment, estates planning or other specialized The organization, a subsidiary of Bank of America, served clients with at least $5 million net worth.
Local numbersz aren’t available, but U.S. Trustr nationally has $200 billion in assets undef management. In some cases, Lancelot says, trustg officers in other markets serve local clients withspecifix needs. He says that won’t “The important thing is we will still have a dedicatedf team hereat U.S. Trust servingb our clients,” Lancelot says. “That service has not been interruptexdat all.” The changes at BofA have offeredr a point of contrast that Emprise at least, is trying to use in building its portfolio. The bank lured Greenwood and two othet employees outof U.S.
Greenwood says that team has had success bringing clients to Emprisrefrom BofA, and “needless to say, we’re in contact with a lot Bryce Carr, executive vice presidenr for Emprise Bank’s Trust and Investmentsz division — with $300 million in assetd under management — says Bank of America may try to servicse more U.S. Trust clients from outlyingh offices. “Their senior-most people on the wealth management and trust side are all he says. “I am unconvinced of Bank of America’es commitment to keeping trust officersw in theWichita market. Can they deliver that service? Yes, they absolutelyy can. But it will be from a distance.
” Lanceloy says U.S. Trust draws on Bank of America’ broad network of financial experts. For a client with large oil interests may have an either locally or fromanother market, to help manag his oil and gas production. “Oufr goal is to build a team of customized experts to servrour clients,” he says. Eric Ireland, co-regionap manager for The , part of Kansas City-based , wouldn’ t comment on the changes at Bank of But he says trust serviceas for elite clients arehighly personalized. The Commercre Trust Co. has a staff of 11 in “Our clients have a contact that they can easily We work together asa team,” Ireland Into The depletion of the U.S.
Trusr staff comes at a time when Bank of Americwa is preparing to consolidate its investment management and premier banking services with brokerage firmMerrill Lynch, which was purchased last year by BofA. The combinedc organization — called Merrill Lync h Global Wealth InvestmentManagement — would have 30 to 35 employee and brokers in the Wichita About five of those come from Bank of The changes don’t affect U.S. The entity is designed to provided Merrill’s additional investment options for Bank ofAmericw clients. Merrill clients, meanwhile, would have access to BofA’ bank products.
“I think we will be able to deliverf more products and services and deepen our relationshipx thatwe haven’t been able to broaden traditionally,” Lanceloty says. “Banks in general have been weak on thebrokeraged side. This allows us the technology and resources that MerriloLynch (brings).” The nationwide consolidatiobn is expected to occur by June but Lancelot says some markets may convert befored then.