(Up to date with remark from Citi spokesperson.)
Citigroup has employed a Merrill Lynch market government to supervise its wealth unit throughout the Northeast, a Citi spokesperson confirmed.
Francisco “Frank” Castellanos, who had overseen Merrill’s Higher Washington, D.C. market, now oversees gross sales groups at roughly 265 branches of Citigold’s Northeast Area, the spokesperson mentioned. His new remit contains workplaces within the New York Metropolis metro space, Connecticut, New Jersey, Maryland and Virginia.
“Frank is a devoted chief, targeted on delivering robust outcomes by a people-first tradition,” David Poole, head of Citigold, mentioned in an announcement. “We’re assured that his management will additional strengthen our dedication to the area, and we stay up for rising to the event within the 12 months forward.”
Washington, D.C.-based Castellanos, who didn’t reply to a request for remark, joined Merrill in 2017 after serving as a international service officer with the U.S. Division of State for twenty years, in response to his LinkedIn profile.
A spokesperson for Merrill didn’t reply to a request for remark.
Castellanos is the most recent government with Merrill ties to affix Citi since Andy Sieg took the helm of the financial institution’s wealth unit. In 2023, Sieg left his place as head of Financial institution of America-owned Merrill to steer Citi’s wealth unit. Since then, he has reshaped Citi’s administration staff and made numerous exterior hires, together with a number of from his former employer.
Amongst his first high-profile hires, Sieg recruited Don Plaus, former head of Merrill Non-public Wealth Administration, in March 2024. Plaus, nevertheless, left Citi after 4 months within the function.
In June 2024, Sieg promoted Citi veteran Kris Bitterly to steer its Wealth at Work unit, a key enterprise line that made its title serving regulation companies and has since expanded into different industries. Sieg additionally introduced over Keith Glenfield, who had served as the manager for Merrill’s Northeast Division, to imagine Bitterly’s former function as head of funding options.
Sieg has additionally tapped executives from different wirehouses, together with veteran Morgan Stanley government Daybreak Nordberg in June 2024. Sieg assigned Nordberg to launch and lead a Citi unit targeted on referrals between the financial institution and wealth division.