(Bloomberg) -- UBS Group AG hired Citigroup Inc. investment banker Giovanni Castaldo to lead its Italian financial institutions group, people with knowledge of the matter said.
Castaldo, 41, will join UBS to strengthen its investment banking division amid expectations of a new wave of consolidation in the industry, the people said, asking not to be identified because the decision isn't public. He will be named managing director covering Italian banks and insurers in July.
The banker will work in close collaboration with country head Riccardo Mulone, European financial-institutions chief Stefanos Papapanagiotou and Javier Oficialdegui, co-global head of investment banking. Spokespeople for UBS and Citi declined to comment on the move.
Castaldo comes to UBS with decades of M&A experience at a time when the Zurich-based lender is seeking to link its investment banking activities to its wealth management business. Castaldo joined Citigroup in 2011 in Milan as head of FIG and head of M&A for Italy, overseeing deals, financing, and equity and debt capital markets.
He has been an adviser for several major Italian transactions, including the merger of Banca Popolare di Milano with Banco Popolare that created Italy's third largest lender, Banco BPM SpA, and the combination of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV and PSA Group to form Stellantis NV, one of the world's largest carmakers. Castaldo also helped plan most of the Italian banking recapitalizations over the last decade, including UniCredit SpA's 13 billion-euro ($14.3 billion) rights offer in 2017.
Before joining Citi, Castaldo worked for Banca Leonardo, Vitale&Co. Spa and Deutsche Bank AG. He is a graduate of Milan's Bocconi University with a degree in institutions and financial markets management.
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