Commerce Wealth Unit Bucks Trend in Product Development

The new head of Commerce Bancorp Inc.'s wealth management unit said that despite industrywide consolidation and tepid markets, he expects his unit will grow at a faster pace than the parent company.

"To experience wealth management growth, we are going to aggressively expand our sales force," said Stan Gregor, the president and chief executive of Commerce Capital Markets. "We want to mirror where the bank is growing and look for opportunities beyond that."

Commerce, of Cherry Hill, N.J., hired Gregor from Banc of America Investment Services, where he had run the Quick & Reilly brokerage in Manhattan the past three and a half years.

He said he made the move because he was impressed by Commerce's growth. The $33.4 billion-asset company has 330 branches in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Washington and Virginia. This year, it has expanded into Connecticut and Lehigh Valley, Pa.

This year alone, Commerce has opened an additional10 branches, with plans to open another 40 more by yearend.