Citizens Financial taps Morgan Stanley exec for wealth business

Citizens Financial has announced another leadership hire from a major bank as it continues to build out its private wealth business.

Citizens Financial Group Inc. has appointed Paul Casey as its new head of wealth management, effective July 9. Casey, who will be based in New York City, brings with him over two decades of wealth management experience, primarily from his tenure at Morgan Stanley.

In his new role, Casey will oversee both the Citizens Wealth Management and Citizens Private Wealth Management divisions. His responsibilities will include addressing the needs of clients across various wealth categories, from the mass affluent to ultra-high-net-worth individuals.

This strategic hire is part of Citizens' ongoing effort to enhance its wealth management offerings following the launch of Citizens Private Bank in late 2023.

"Paul is an experienced and well-rounded wealth management executive with a proven track record of success and has a long runway here at Citizens," Brendan Coughlin, vice chair and head of consumer banking at Citizens, said in a statement.

Coughlin, to whom Casey will be reporting, emphasized Casey's significant contributions in his previous role at Morgan Stanley, where he managed more than $90 billion in client assets at the banking giant’s flagship New York City Private Wealth Management office.

"We’ve been on a journey to build a world-class wealth management business for several years and have generated solid momentum," he said.

The recent launch of Citizens Private Bank has notably amplified the firm's capacity to expand its wealth management operations, improving its brand image and attracting top talent in the industry.

In addition to Casey's appointment, Citizens has significantly beefed up its wealth management leadership over the past year.

This includes the recruitment of approximately 200 bankers in 2023 and its February hiring of two JPMorgan alums, Michael Cherny and Tom Metzger, to lead its wealth management advisors and private wealth managers, respectively.

These appointments, along with over a dozen new financial advisors since last fall, underscore the robust growth and strengthening of Citizens’ wealth management platform.