First Midwest Bancorp (FMBI) of Itasca, Ill., has combined three units to form a new wealth management division and has named a longtime employee to run it.
Robert P. Diedrich, who has been with First Midwest for 32 years, previously led the bank's trust division. The new wealth management unit combines First Midwest's trust, retail investment and private banking into one division, the $7.8 billion-asset company said Monday.
This change should "streamline our interfacing with clients," James M. Roolf, senior vice president and corporate relations officer at First Midwest, said Monday. The combined unit should allow for a "heightened level of coordination" among existing staff and should enhance the company's ability to cross-sell, he added.
Many banks have been bulking up their wealth management units as more traditional sources of revenue have dried up. First Midwest's division manages more than $5 billion in assets and will provide fiduciary, investment and private banking services to individual, corporate and government customers.
