Wachovia opens wealth office in Birmingham

FWR Staff

25 May 2005

Former SouthTrusters anchor megabank's move into "Mid-South" region. Wachovia is opening a regional wealth management office in Birmingham, Ala., led by former SouthTrust executives. The office, which is expected to be staffed and running before the summer is out, marks Wachovia’s debut as a wealth manager in Alabama.

Wachovia completed its $14.3-billion acquisition of Birmingham-based SouthTrust last November. It is still integrating with SouthTrust at the branch level.

John Lotz heads Charlotte, N.C.-based Wachovia’s Alabama wealth management business. A former senior v.p. in SouthTrust’s corporate unit, Lotz was named to the regional wealth management job in June 2004, shortly after Wachovia and SouthTrust announced their intention to merge.

Mark Wesson, formerly SouthTrust’s wealth management director, has been named managing director of the Birmingham team. Other SouthTrust alumni include relationship managers James Burns, Heath Morris and Anthony Riccio.

Peter Barber joins the wealth management division as a financial planner from the law firm Wallace Jordan Ratliff and Brandt, where he was a partner.

Other new hires include those of relationship managers Frank Petrusnek from AmSouth and Felix Tankersley from Fifth Third. –FWR