Ex-CEO of Citi's private bank and U.S. Trust joins another bluechip outfit. Goldman Sachs has hired former U.S. Trust CEO Peter Scaturro and put him in charge of its Private Wealth Management group.

"Peter joins us at a time of great opportunity for our [Private Wealth Management] business," Peter Kraus, co-head of Goldman's investment-management division, writes in a 16 July 2007 memo to Goldman staffers. "As a recognized leader in the industry, he brings a demonstrated ability to lead a global wealth management organization."

The position Scaturro is filling is a new one. Goldman's Private-wealth group "was previously run by regional heads who reported to the head of Goldman's investment-management division," says Goldman spokesman Christopher Williams. "They will now report to Scaturro."

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Goldman is expanding its "global footprint, increasing client coverage and opening new offices in a number of key locations" as the unit continues "to develop innovative products to add to our existing portfolio," Kraus writes. And, according to Goldman's 2006 annual report, the investment bank is "building a private-banking capability" in order "to provide a full range of services to our private wealth management clients."

Scaturro's "extensive experience will help us to continue the robust growth of our global business," Kraus adds in the memo to staffers. Scaturro left U.S. Trust in April 2007, right in the midst of its transfer by former owner Schwab to Bank of America. Since then U.S. Trust has become part of Bank of America's wealth-management business U.S. Trust Bank of America Private Wealth Management. Scaturro's successor at U.S. Trust, Frances Aldrich Sevilla-Sacasa, is its head.

Before he joined U.S. Trust in mid 2005, Scaturro was CEO of Citigroup Private Bank. He left Citi -- where he was in charge of 98 offices in 38 countries -- in the wake of a Japanese regulatory scandal in 2004.

Prior to joining Citi in 1999, he was with Bankers Trust (and subsequently its acquirer Deutsche Bank) for 13 years. He started his career in operations at Chase Manhattan (now part of JPMorgan Chase).

Kraus isn't alone at the top of Goldman's asset-management business, incidentally. Within a few weeks though the division's co-head Eric Schwartz is scheduled to retire. Goldman hasn't named a replacement for him.

New York-based Goldman has 13 wealth-management offices in the U.S. in addition to wealth-management offices in London, Zurich, Geneva, Frankfurt, Singapore, Hong Kong and Tokyo.

Kraus says that Goldman's high-end private-client group has seen its assets under supervision double since November 2001. -FWR

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