Wells Fargo Wholesale Banking, a division of Wells Fargo & Company, announced Paul Whyte is joining its Corporate & Investment Banking (CIB) and Commercial Real Estate (CRE) groups, effective Nov. 12, as a Managing Director focused on real estate investment banking and hospitality finance.

Within CIB, Whyte will be part of the newly formed Real Estate, Gaming, Lodging and Leisure (REGAL) group, and within CRE, Whyte will be part of the Hospitality Finance Group (HFG). Whyte will be based in New York and will report to Randy Williamson, head of REGAL, and Christopher Jordan, head of HFG.

“We are delighted to welcome Paul who brings significant real estate investment banking expertise that adds to, and complements, our significant bench of talent within REGAL,” said Williamson, head of the REGAL group in CIB. “Paul joins our platform at an exciting time as we seek to deepen our collaboration with our CRE group to expand our offering and bring greater value to our commercial real estate clients.”

“Paul’s extensive banking expertise and deep knowledge of the lodging industry will empower our Hospitality Finance Group to deliver even greater value to hospitality clients, both public and private,” said Jordan, head of the HFG group in CRE. “Our Hospitality Finance Group is a gateway for leading hotel owners to access a broad range of financing solutions from across Wells Fargo, and Paul will play an important part in helping our hospitality clients access both the capital markets and balance sheet lending.”

Wells Fargo recently established the REGAL industry coverage group within CIB to provide a full suite of investment banking and capital markets capabilities including mergers and acquisition advisory solutions, as well as debt and equity origination and structuring. REGAL partners closely with Wells Fargo’s CRE group, the top commercial real estate lender in the country, to deliver a comprehensive and seamless suite of financing solutions and advice to commercial real estate clients.

Prior to joining Wells Fargo, Whyte, who has 26 years of experience as an investment banker covering real estate clients, worked at Credit Suisse Securities, where he spent nearly a decade, most recently as managing director for Real Estate Investment Banking. Previously, he held real estate investment banking positions at Deutsche Bank Securities, where he spent 13 years, and Salomon Brothers. Whyte received a bachelor of arts degree from Purdue University and an MBA in finance from the University of North Carolina.