PNC added two experienced bankers in its public finance department.
Megan DeGrass will head up PNC's higher education business and Jack Medall will work on its West Coast team.
DeGrass has more than 30 years of public finance experience, most recently serving as a managing director at Hilltop Securities, having held previous positions with Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo covering higher education and not-for-profit clients, according to a PNC press release.
DeGrass will focus on "building a national higher education investment banking practice," she said.
PNC's reputation and resources drew her to the firm. "I think there's a great platform there, in terms of resources and capabilities that add significant value to colleges and universities," DeGrass said.
DeGrass also liked the idea of working with Samantha Funk, who leads PNC's public finance department.
"She's a very positive, visionary leader, with, I think, a very credible plan for building out not just higher education, but the entire public finance practice," DeGrass said.
DeGrass started at PNC in late April and works out of the firm's Boston office.
"It's just a very welcoming and supportive team, and everyone seems genuinely excited to have me be here, and there's been a lot of outreach, a lot of engagement with the existing team," DeGrass said. "So, that's been wonderful."
"I'm looking forward to getting out on the road and meeting with the institutions we cover directly," DeGrass said, "starting those conversations about how PNC can add value and really be a capital markets partner to all of the colleges and universities we're hoping to work with"
Medall joins PNC's California capital markets team from Cabrera Capital Markets, where he served as vice president of the western region. He previously worked at Morgan Stanley and PFM.
Medall joined PNC partly for "an opportunity to work with Chris Roberts," the head of PNC's capital markets on the West Coast. Medall has concentrated on utilities throughout his career, and Roberts has strong connections with water and wastewater in California.
Medall was also enticed by the chance to grow PNC's prepaid energy transactions, an area he worked on at his previous position.
"The PNC platform is an ability to offer a lot of different products that are beneficial to our clients, that not every bank can claim to do," Medall said, such as "the ability to be able to extend credit, the bank relationships, Treasury management, a full suite of services."
