Wells Fargo makes public finance hire in Dallas

Wells Fargo hired Stephanie Henning as an executive director, to expand the bank's municipal finance presence in Texas, a company spokesperson told The Bond Buyer.

Henning will establish a public finance office in Dallas. In a statement, she said she will provide "continued coverage for several clients that I've had the privilege of working with throughout my career across sectors, in addition to a deeper focus on the DFW metroplex and Texas [independent school districts]."

Henning left a similar position at Morgan Stanley. She was motivated by "the opportunity to join a full-service platform that offers a broad spectrum of products to clients, supported by a dedicated Texas underwriter, strong distribution network and capital position."

Wells Fargo already has public finance offices in Houston and Austin. Henning's hiring in Dallas is "a natural extension of our desire to continue expanding and growing within one of the fastest-growing states in the country," co-heads of public finance Julie Burger and Mark Burns said in a statement.

Henning started in May. Before Morgan Stanley, she worked at RBC Capital Markets.

Wells Fargo was one of several firms investigated by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in 2023 for their involvement in the Net-Zero Banking Alliance, which seeks to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and align banks with the sustainability goals. Paxton argued that banks' participation in the alliance broke a Texas law forbidding government contracts with entities that "boycott" the fossil fuel industry.

The review of Wells Fargo was dropped last year, after the bank severed ties with the alliance, which Paxton called a "step in the right direction." The other banks being investigated soon followed and left the alliance, ending the probe.