Wells Fargo Government & Institutional Banking (GIB) named four public finance veterans to key management roles in Wells Fargo Securities (WFS) and one industry expert to the leadership team of its commercial banking practice.

Harper Watters is based in New York. This 23-year higher education and public finance veteran is responsible for expanding Education and Nonprofit (ENB) business with public and private institutions. Most recently, he was associate vice president and treasurer for Cornell University. He serves on the Treasury Symposium Program Committee at the Treasury Institute for Higher Education. Previously, Watters worked for Bank of America Merrill Lynch and UBS Securities in higher education public finance groups. He holds a master’s from Carnegie Mellon University.

Lawrence Stephens, director, most recently served as a Public Finance director for PNC Capital Markets’ New York Banking and Higher Education groups. Before that, he served as a Public Finance executive director for J.P. Morgan Securities. He is based in New York.

“With these hires, we’ve added 40-plus years of experience in delivering public financing ideas and solutions for our clients,” said Sally Bednar, co-head of Higher Education with Patrick Russell. “We looked for senior bankers with higher education and nonprofit expertise to expand our practice and found these qualities in Harper and Lawrence.”

Donald G. Wenzel, Jr., a 25-year JPMorgan Chase commercial banking veteran, is also joining GIB as executive vice president and leader of Business Operations Risk. Splitting time between Charlotte, NC and Louisville, KY, Wenzel will be part of GIB’s first line of defense, helping to ensure operational soundness in executing business processes for GIB segments. Over his career, he has earned roles of increasing responsibility at JPMorgan Chase, including Risk and Control for the Government, Healthcare and Higher Education; Commercial Banking Oversight & Controls and, most recently, as Business Operations Risk director.

Rebecca Reape, director, she will cover state and local housing-finance agencies, and real estate development clients. A 19-year affordable housing veteran, she previously served as a Public Finance vice president at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, helping to grow the firm’s housing practice significantly. There, she provided investment banking services to finance affordable housing for single and multifamily borrowers through municipal bond offerings.

Matthew Engler, director, will cover state and local housing-finance agencies and real estate development clients. In 2015 and 2016, he served as a Barclays director, helping increase the firm’s housing bond underwriting market share. Before that, he was a senior vice president for City Securities Corporation and a UBS Municipal Securities Group associate director. He is based in Boston.

“Wells Fargo is proud of our longstanding commitment and presence in the mortgage markets, and we continue to expand our housing practice,” said Nancy Feldman, interim head of Public Finance. “As the nation’s largest investor in Low Income Housing Tax Credits and the top lender in multifamily construction, we can now serve the needs of single and multifamily clients even better.”