First Bank Hires Industry Veteran Richard Ryffel as Director of Wealth Management

Former J.P. Morgan Chase executive will enhance resources for individual investors as well as family-owned and privately held businesses across Missouri, California and Illinois

ST. LOUIS–(BUSINESS WIRE)–First Bank, the bank of choice for family-owned businesses, announced today Richard Ryffel has been hired as its new director of wealth management. Ryffel’s more than 30 years of diverse financial services experience including commercial banking, investment banking and wealth management further enhance First Bank’s resources and reinforce its commitment to provide the highest-quality comprehensive solutions for family-owned businesses.

Ryffel will be responsible for managing First Bank’s high-net-worth practice across the Bank’s entire footprint throughout Missouri, California and Illinois including revenue attainment, talent acquisition, compliance, sales management, advisor development, and client acquisition, and he will serve on First Bank’s Executive Committee. He previously served as Missouri Market Manager for J.P. Morgan Private Bank.

“Rich brings tremendous knowledge and expertise to our wealth management practice, and his diverse experience across sectors and significant community involvement will benefit every facet of First Bank,” said Shelley Seifert, First Bank Chairman and CEO. “His passion and eagerness to be a confidant for family-owned businesses aligns perfectly with our overall mission. We are honored to welcome Rich to the First Bank family.”

In his most recent position as Executive Director at J.P. Morgan, Ryffel was responsible for all aspects of J.P. Morgan’s wealth management business in a five-state region and for assisting with the de novo launch of Chase retail branches in St. Louis and Kansas City. As the St. Louis market leadership team chair, he led local marketing, sponsorship, philanthropy and employee engagement activities and was active in representing J.P. Morgan Chase in the St. Louis community.

Ryffel hopes to expand First Bank’s client base throughout California and the Midwest and said the Bank’s incredible focus on family-owned business attracted him to the position.

“Everyone from the executive management team on down is fully invested in the strategy and focus on family-owned business,” said Ryffel. “As a 100-plus-year-old, family-owned business, First Bank has distinguished itself as a reliable financial partner, advising clients across a wide range of financial services and advice needs. With its singular focus on family business, First Bank brings all the solutions necessary to start, grow and hand down family businesses so the fruits of those successes can be secured for multiple generations.”

Ryffel’s commitment and reach throughout the community extends beyond banking. He has been on the board of directors of Beyond Housing for more than 20 years and served as a board member and past president for the Normandy Schools Collaborative. This year he was appointed as a board member to the Gateway Center for Giving and the Clayton Community Foundation and is a member of the Governor’s Club, the St. Louis Club and the Walker Business School Advisory Committee at Webster University.

From March 2015 to September 2017, Ryffel took a hiatus from the financial services industry as a full-time professor and senior lecturer at the Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis. While there he conceived and launched the Wealth and Asset Management Master of Finance program. He is still involved as part-time professor of finance practice teaching courses in Financial Markets and Sales Management. Additionally, he founded and chairs the Olin Wealth and Asset Management Conference and the Brookings Institution’s Municipal Finance Conference.

In addition to his time at J.P. Morgan, Ryffel worked as a managing director and team leader at Edward Jones, Bank of America and A.G. Edwards. He holds an engineering degree from Tufts University and an MBA from Boston University.

Ryffel was recently recognized with the 2020 Gerry and Bob Virgil Ethic of Service Award from Washington University and the 2019 St. Louis Business Journal C-Suite Award. He will join the First Bank team in late July.

For more information about First Bank, visit www.firstbanks.com.

About First Bank

First Bank, a subsidiary of FB Corporation, is one of the largest privately owned banks in the country. As a family-owned business with four generations of independent, single-family ownership, First Bank offers the stability and experience with long-term planning that helps businesses and the communities in which they operate grow and thrive. With over $6 billion in assets and over 90 locations throughout Missouri, California and Illinois, First Bank has developed a relationship-driven approach to offer comprehensive solutions for clients in commercial and consumer banking, wealth management, mortgage banking and more. For information, visit www.firstbanks.com.

Contacts

Ryan Jackson

O’Malley Hansen Communications

314.799.3229

Ryan.Jackson@omalleyhansen.com