U.S. Bancorp files complaint against Nadia Cavner

Two days after the ace financial consultant’s switch to The Signature Bank, U.S. Bancorp filed a legal complaint in Missouri district court alleging Cavner violated her confidentiality and nonsolicitation agreements by “improperly attempting to lure away” her former U.S. Bancorp clients.

The Sept. 8 complaint also said it appears “Cavner began liquidating customer money market accounts for trading, and then holding the money for deployment at her new firm.”

Mike Johnson, U.S. Bancorp regional sales manager, said most of Cavner’s roughly 3,000 clients have not followed her to her new operation, but said The Signature Bank personnel were soliciting those clients to do so.

“The relationship that our customers have is with U.S. Bancorp Investments, not with Nadia Cavner,” Johnson said. “Unfortunately, we have found out that people from Signature Bank, and again I’ll just say it real forward here, are calling people saying they need to come in to sign paperwork.

“They don’t need to sign paperwork. They only need to sign paperwork in the event they want to transfer their accounts.”

Keith Thornburg, chief legal counsel for the Missouri Division of Finance, which regulates state-chartered banks, said solicitation can be OK if it’s done right. While not privy to Cavner’s case, he said calling former clients is not a problem if the solicitor isn’t using materials, such as a client list, from their former employer.

“Banking is built on personal relationships,” Thornburg said. “When that person moves, a lot of those relationships are going to move, too.”

David Kunze, The Signature Bank chairman and CEO, said the bank’s personnel have not used any of U.S. Bancorp’s confidential information.

“We are not calling on any of Nadia’s past clients and asking them to come in and move their business and fill out paperwork,” Kunze said. “The Signature Bank is going to vigorously defend against the claims alleged in the lawsuit. We believe the claims are without merit.”

The legal complaint, which was sent anonymously to Springfield Business Journal, states that Cavner agreed in writing not to solicit customers for a year after her resignation from U.S. Bancorp. U.S. Bancorp officials said the legal process is still in the beginning stages and declined further comment.

The two sides also disagree on the value of the investment portfolio Cavner left at U.S. Bancorp. Johnson said it’s $363 million, while Cavner and The Signature Bank have placed it at more than $450 million.

Cavner, who deferred comment related to the suit to Kunze, said she’s gotten a positive response from her old clients, though she wouldn’t say how many of them have followed her to The Signature Bank.

“It’s just been wonderfully overwhelming,” she said. “Clients (are) really following us.”

Meanwhile, Don Gass transferred from U.S. Bancorp’s Joplin office to replace Cavner on Sept. 12.

“Don has over 20 years of financial services experience,” Johnson said. “We felt as if he was the best person for the job.”

Gass, a senior financial consultant, has been with U.S. Bancorp since 2001 and now works out of the institution’s 1615 S. Glenstone location.

Gass said he’s been swamped with work since taking his new assignment.

“Man, I’ve been just from morning till dark covered up,” Gass said.

Johnson said U.S. Bancorp would hire another two or three consultants in the coming months to handle the workload.

“We are fully expecting that when customers meet Don and realize that he is a true financial professional in every sense of the word that they will choose to keep their accounts at U.S. Bancorp Investments,” Johnson added.

Click here for the full text of U.S. Bancorp's complaint.

Click here for the full texts of Exhibits A and B.