Wells Fargo has named Kristin Lesher, a 21-year company veteran, as its new head of middle-market banking.
Lesher, whose appointment is effective immediately, has led Wells’ middle-market banking operations on the East Coast since 2018. She will report to Kyle Hranicky, who was
“As we continue to invest in and strengthen Middle Market Banking, I’m confident Kristin is the right leader to move our business forward,” Hranicky said in a press release.
The $1.95 trillion-asset bank has been expanding its middle-market footprint for years, and it has focused over the last year on technology investments to boost its business with current clients.
Asked for an update on those investments, Wells Fargo Chief Financial Officer Michael Santomassimo told analysts last week the company is seeing some “encouraging green shoots,” but that it is still early in the process.
“We think that's a really big opportunity over a long period of time, but it doesn't happen in a quarter or two,” Santomassimo said. “It takes some time to really make sure that we've got those relationships built out in the way we want.”
Wells Fargo reported a slight increase in middle-market loans in the third quarter, ending the period with nearly $102.3 billion in loans, up from $102.1 billion at the end of the second quarter. Loan volume remained below the nearly $106 billion the company reported in the third quarter of 2020, reflecting the industrywide decline in commercial loans as businesses avoid tapping their available credit lines.
Earnings from middle-market banking totaled $1.17 billion in the third quarter, up 1% from the three previous months but down 3% from the same period a year earlier.
Wells Fargo’s niches in middle-market banking include agribusiness, food and hospitality, health care, real estate and technology.
Lesher joined Wells Fargo in 2000. She has previously served as co-head of investment banking coverage at Wells Fargo Securities and has worked in the bank’s treasury and merger divisions.
