DALLAS - Wells Fargo & Co. is more than doubling the size of its Texas public finance team with the recruitment of five investment bankers from UBS AG, which has closed its municipal bond practice.
The new hires specialize in school finance, a growing market in Texas where school districts are struggling to keep up with rising enrollments and overall population growth.
"This is a great opportunity to continue progress toward our goal to double our public finance business by 2010," Bill Gabler, head of Wells Fargo public finance unit, said in a statement announcing the moves. "Our growth, in turn, supports the Wells Fargo commercial banking group's commitment to serving all the financial needs of our government and nonprofit customers."
Working out of Wells Fargo's Houston office will be senior vice president Craig Brast, vice president Sonny Donaldson, and assistant vice presidents Michael Bradbury and John Young. Vice president Larry Groppel will work out of the Dallas office.
Brast, the team's managing director, has been involved in more than 400 municipal financings as lead manager or financial adviser. Brast graduated with honors from Baylor University with a bachelor's degree in economics and management and received an MBA from Rice University.
Donaldson and Groppel joined UBS in 2005 as associate directors with extensive experience as school administrators. Donaldson earned his bachelor's degree in history from Tarleton State University and a master's degree in education from Sam Houston State University. Groppel earned his bachelor's degree from Baylor University, his MA in education from Prairie View A&M University, and a Ph.D. in education from East Texas State University. Young graduated from Rice University with a degree in both physics and economics, and Bradbury graduated from Rice with an MBA.
Gabler said Wells Fargo was not the only banker trying to recruit the UBS team.
The Texas expansion allows Wells Fargo to fill a void left by the Swiss banking giant while advancing toward its goal of doubling its public finance business, Gabler said.
"Texas and California are both states in which Wells Fargo has a very strong banking franchise, and we still don't have enough investment bankers," he said. "The exit of UBS was an opportunity for companies like us to speed up the business."
