Citi nets another U.S. Trust private banking exec

Citi Private Bank announced today that it’s hired yet another executive from U.S. Trust, the wealth management arm of Bank of America Corp. Charles Merrill, a namesake but no relation to one of the founders of Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc., is set to join Citigroup Inc. in July as a managing director and New York regional executive. He’ll replace Leslie Bains, who will return to her old job as head of client development. Mr. Merrill, 61, will report to Peter Charrington, chief executive of Citi Private Bank in North America. U.S. Trust has been fertile recruiting ground for Citi recently, as it expands its force aggressively. In fact, just this week, Citi hired Daniel Williams from U.S. Trust as a managing director and private banker based in Manhattan. And in March, Citi recruited Todd Devin as a private banker for its Palm Beach, Fla. office. Over the next few years, Citi Private Bank, which targets clients who have $25 million in investible assets and above, plans to double its number of private bankers, The Wall Street Journal reported in March. A spokesman for Citi Private Bank, Mark Costiglio, confirmed that figure today. At U.S. Trust, Mr. Merrill was managing director and New York market executive. Before joining Bank of America in 2002, he spent 12 years with Merrill Lynch in New York, most recently in the high-net-worth-focused Private Client Group.