Small Deposits: Santander lays off 77; SEI makes leadership changes

Recent banking and financial news in Greater Philadelphia

Santander cuts 77 jobs

Santander Bank has laid off 77 workers from its operations and call centre facility in Reading. The Boston-based Santander Bank, a subsidiary of Spain's Santander Group, (NYSE: SAN), informed the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry that the job cuts were due its eventual exit from 450 Penn St.

The bank stated that employees were informed on April 17, and layoffs will begin on June 30, according to the statement. The affected employees will be eligible to be rehired or apply for vacancies in the company.

Santander (formerly Sovereign Bank) had its headquarters in Wyomissing for more than a century before moving to Boston. The bank is slowly reducing its presence in Berks County. The bank has also reduced the number of branches in Philadelphia, from 71 down to 57. WSFS Bank is now ahead and it falls from No. It has also reduced its presence in the Philadelphia region, cutting its branch footprint from 71 to 57 while being surpassed by WSFS Bank and falling from No. The largest depositors are ranked No. 7

Santander announced in February 2022 that it would lay off 53 workers in Conshohocken, as part of an overall plan to exit residential mortgages and home equity in the U.S. These cuts affected 400 employees or 4.5%.

SEI makes leadership changes

SEI Investments, following the integration and alignment of its global asset management businesses in October, has made significant leadership changes to the SEI Investments group headed by Wayne Withrow. Here are the new changes:

J. Womack has been appointed global head of investments solutions. He was previously managing director for investment products and personalized services in SEI’s advisor business. This role included overseeing product development and strategy.

SEI, based in Oaks, has also made changes to its leadership structure with the promotion of Cipriano. He will report to Phil McCabe as head of SEI’s Investment Managers Business (IMS).

Carmine Remo, SEI's Alternative Business Leader, will be responsible for the operation and client service of SEI’s alternative investment managers based in the United States. Tessa Smith, IMS's largest segment, will be in charge of the enterprise client, leading operations and relationship management. Chad Longenecker, who was previously the managing director of private equity at IMS, will now be in charge of IMS’ strategic growth clients segment. He will also lead IMS' operations and relationship management. He was previously the managing director of private capital.

Ryan Hicke, the CEO of SEI since June last year, said: "We are acutely aware of how important it is to prepare SEI for the coming years, and ensure that the next generation leaders have the skills necessary to grow with our company." Talent mobility is a valuable tool that we will use to drive SEI's success in the short and long term.

SEI offers asset management software to banks, investment advisers, institutional investors, and investment managers. As of March 31st, the company managed, advised, or administered approximately $1.3 trillion worth of assets.

Main Line Private Equity firm purchases medical device company

Inverness Graham Investments, a private equity firm based in Wayne, has announced that it acquired the medical device company Innovia Medical from Shore Capital Partners of Chicago for an undisclosed amount.

Innovia, based in St. Paul, Minnesota, manufactures branded surgical products for single-use and sterile-processing systems that are used by the ENT, ophthalmic and aesthetic markets.

Innovia was formed by Shore Capital through the initial acquisitions made in February 2015 of Summit Medical and Shippert Medical Enterprises. Terry Meredith, a long-time health care provider, was appointed CEO of Innovia by Shore. Meredith led the expansion of Innovia with the acquisitions of six other businesses. This expanded the platform’s strategic positioning, its product portfolio, and its customer reach. Innovia Medical has become a global supplier of single-use products for surgery and sterile processing with manufacturing facilities in the U.S.A. and U.K.

Inverness Graham is focused on the acquisition of manufacturing, technology and service companies. Innovia is a platform investment for health care, according to the firm. The firm is the 10th largest in the Philadelphia area, with $700 millions of capital under management by the end 2022. It has 32 local employees.

California firms purchase second local wealth advisor

EP Wealth Advisors, based in Torrance, California has acquired its second local investment adviser in the last five years. Media's Lehman & DeRafelo Financial Resources is the latest addition. It provides financial planning services and investment management with a special focus on high net-worth clients. The firm also offers an alternative investment strategy that can be combined with EP Wealth's larger approach to investing. Rich DeRafelo, Ron Lehman and Jeff Lehman are the firm principals who will take on the roles of regional director. EP Wealth will have four advisors, two support staff and a total of eight employees. The financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

EP announced that it had acquired Warren Financial Services & Associates in Exton, Pennsylvania. This was the first time the firm entered Pennsylvania. It is also the second acquisition on the East Coast following a Boston area acquisition announced during the third quarter 2022. Warren has added nine new employees, five of whom are advisors. EP will have over 300 employees, and manage $16.1 billion in assets by the end of 2022.

Branching out

Wells Fargo & Co. filed a request to close a branch located at 1276 General Washington Memorial Boulevard. Washington Crossing, and 2137 Penn Ave. Berks County.