• by Judy Warner , April 10, 2007

If you Google "Private Wealth Management," up pops Fidelity followed by Argent, Mellon, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs. Such a list displays the competition that Bank of America goes up against as it absorbs U.S. Trust to create one of the largest private banks in the nation.

The Charlotte, N.C., financial juggernaut yesterday said Private Wealth Management will be the new name of the combined entity following final legal approval of the acquisition, expected next month. Private Wealth Management will be formed by combining the operations of U.S. Trust with Bank of America's The Private Bank and its Family Wealth Advisors. It will serve the financial needs of the ultra wealthy and their families in the U.S. and in some overseas markets.

A Bank of America spokesperson said it would be premature to discuss how the combined entity will be marketed or whether a brand campaign is in the works.

Bank of America announced in November it would buy U.S. Trust from Charles Schwab for $3.3 billion in cash. At that time, based on assets under management by private banks, Bank of America was the second-largest manager of private wealth in the U.S., while U.S. Trust was fourth. The combined entity will be first, according to Bank of America, with a total of $261 billion in assets under management.

BofA yesterday named Frances Sevilla-Sacasa president of Private Wealth Management, reporting to Brian Moynihan, who is president of Bank of America's Global Wealth & Investment Management. Sevilla-Sacasa recently replaced Peter Scaturro as CEO of U.S. Trust after serving for several years as its president.

"Frances is a proven leader in the private wealth management industry who shares our vision for a new organization defined by the needs of our clients and reflective of the complementary strengths of the two predecessor organizations," says Moynihan. "We will continue to partner closely with Frances and her team as we work to bring our two great organizations together, and look forward to her leadership of the combined business."