Wells opens Manhattan Beach hub for wealth management: large complex caters to businesses, high net worth individuals.

WELLS Fargo & Co. opened a 30,000-square-foot banking complex in Manhattan Beach this month in what is being billed as a "first-to-market move."

What's unique about the location, according to Wells, is the large number of senior private banking managers who will be based on site rather than in satellite offices countywide.

"This is essentially a wealth management hub," said David Zimmerman, a regional manager for Wells Fargo's wealth management group. "Sure there are competitors with branches out here in the South Bay and sure there are stock and mortgage brokers as well as private bankers, but certainly not all under one roof. We looked around and saw the opportunity."

Built from the ground up, the 2141 Rosecrans Ave. complex will offer a variety of financial products for businesses and high net worth individuals. Service managers will run separate operations overseeing staffs of commercial loan officers, business deposit consultants, private bankers, trust officers, private mortgage consultants, retail bankers, investment managers and financial consultants. At full capacity, Wells Fargo expects there will be 115 staff members, nearly half of them managers and professionals.

Integrated service options are common at many bank branches, especially among larger banks. But Kris Nishihira, Wells Fargo's vice president and business deposit consultant manager for South Bay and Long Beach, said the new complex will offer a wider range of services than most banks.

"Although my team focuses on business banking, a customer can also get estate planning or mortgage products through our partners all in one place." he said.