Jonathan Kessler was recruited from Merrill Lynch and will head a new banking and lending solutions unit at UBS that is scheduled to begin in October, according to the company.
In this role, he will be expected to develop liquidity, financing and credit solutions with the hope of enhancing UBS’ expansion efforts. Kessler was the chief opearting officer of the banking and direct investment divisions at Merrill Lynch Wealth Management, and before that, he was president and chief operating officer of Merrill’s credit corporation.
UBS also hired Frank Destra, who will join in mid-August as the head of mortgages. He will report to Kessler. Destra will recruit and oversee the mortgage team that is designed to provide mortgage advice to both the advisor and client. He led the residential lending business for Goldman Sachs Bank. Throughout his career as a mortgage specialist, he has been in charge of account management, business and operations leadership roles, UBS said in an announcement.
As part of UBS’ overall plan to reinvent itself under Robert McCann, it plans to re-energize its services to clients on both sides of their balance sheets. That is, in addition to advice on how to invest their assets, it wants to become the lender of choice for their liabilities, as well.
