Wells Fargo names new head of private bank

Wells Fargo named Julie Caperton as the new head of its wealth management arm for high-net-worth clients.

She succeeds Julia Wellborn, who left the company in April, as the head of Wells Fargo Private Bank.

Caperton, a 19-year veteran at Wells Fargo and predecessor organizations, is currently the head of the company’s Banking, Lending & Trust Center of Excellence.

She will retain that title and continue reporting to Barry Sommers, who heads the bank’s wealth and investment management unit. Sommers joined Wells last year as part of CEO Charlie Scharf’s efforts to reshape the company.

After Sommers's arrival, the $1.9 trillion-assset company folded its private bank into its Wells Fargo Advisors brokerage unit — a move that was reportedly part of the bank's efforts to cut costs and conserve capital.

And in March, Wells Fargo folded its Abbot Downing business, which served ultra-high-net-worth clients, into its private bank. The private bank administers over $1.09 trillion of client assets and deposits, according to its website.

Caperton has previously led Wells Fargo’s corporate development team, its asset-backed finance division and its corporate trust services group. She was a securities and structured finance lawyer at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft before joining the Wells Fargo predecessor firm Wachovia.

Last year, Caperton was named to American Banker’s list of The Most Powerful Women to Watch.