City National Bank has created a new National Corporate Banking division. The new division will be led by Brent Williams, senior vice president, who also leads City National’s L.A. Metro Commercial Banking business unit.
Williams will be responsible for leading and growing this new national team, which will specialize in meeting the complex banking and corporate finance needs of larger commercial and mid-corporate-sized companies across the country, leveraging the capabilities of both City National and RBC Capital Markets. As part of this effort, Williams will lead a newly formed Diversified Industrials & Services Banking unit, with bankers located in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York City, Chicago, Atlanta and Dallas. He will also oversee the bank’s existing Food & Beverage Banking and Aerospace & Defense Banking units, which will also become part of National Corporate Banking. Williams will report to Rich Raffetto, president of City National.
“We serve middle-market businesses really well. As City National and RBC Capital Markets continue to invest in and upgrade our commercial banking and corporate finance products and capabilities, there is a great opportunity to add value as a strategic partner to larger companies across the country,” said Raffetto. “Brent is an outstanding leader, and we are delighted to see him take on this expanded role. With his background and deep expertise, he is uniquely suited to lead City National’s corporate banking efforts coast to coast.”
“At City National, we combine very personalized service with the capabilities of a large institution, which makes us an ideal fit to serve larger middle-market and mid-corporate-sized companies,” said Williams. “We are ready to bring our expertise to larger companies, and I look forward to spearheading these efforts in our new National Corporate Banking division.”
Based in Los Angeles, Williams brings 28 years of financial services experience to this role. He joined City National in 2018, as the Los Angeles regional manager of the bank’s Commercial Banking division. In that role, he has led a team of commercial bankers who deliver City National’s customized financial solutions to midsized businesses in Los Angeles, San Fernando Valley, Ventura and Long Beach. Williams was named one of the “Most Influential Lenders in Los Angeles County” by the Los Angeles Business Journal in 2019.
Prior to joining City National, Williams worked in a variety of roles at Wells Fargo, most recently as an executive vice president and region head responsible for Los Angeles Westside, as well as head of the bank’s Southern California Middle Market Technology, Media and Telecom team.