San Francisco-based Wells Fargo has appointed the former managing director of its financial sponsors portfolio management group, Joseph Colianni, as senior managing director of banking at Abbot Downing, the firm's recently-launched ultra high net worth business.

Colianni joined the portfolio management group in 2001, subsequently serving as managing director. In this role, he led a team managing a portfolio of transactions related to investment banking and traditional commercial lending, the firm said.

Before Wells, Colianni spent nine years at RBC Capital Markets as an investment banking principal. Earlier in his career, he held various leadership roles, including at Deloitte Consulting.

As head of banking at Abbot Downing, Colianni will oversee a range of services, which as well as checking and foreign exchange services, includes treasury management services and interest rate risk management strategies such as swaps, collars and caps, as well as custom lending. 

Custom lending covers areas such as tactical liquidity, specialized loans for aircraft, art investments and alternative investments, business succession financing, and capital for commercial real estate and businesses.

Wells Fargo's UHNW unit has offices in San Francisco, CA, Palo Alto, CA, Los Angeles, CA, Scottsdale, AZ, Denver, CO, Houston, TX, Minneapolis, Chicago, IL, Philadelphia, PA, Washington, DC, Charlotte, NC, Winston-Salem, NC, Raleigh, NC, Naples, FL, Jacksonville, FL, and Palm Beach, FL. It has around $32.9 billion in client assets as part of the company's $1.3 trillion wealth, brokerage and retirement group.

Wells launched the Abbot Downing brand on 2 April, combining its former Lowry Hill and family wealth businesses.