Private Equity Poaches Banks' Top Guns

Private-equity firms are on a financial sector hiring spree.

In the last week alone two hard-hitting firms have picked up former bank and insurance executives. The latest is Cerberus Capital Management, which hired Al de Molina just six months after he left his post as Bank of America's(BAC Quote) CFO, according to reports.

Molina, a 17-year veteran of the Charlotte, N.C., lender, will help oversee Cerberus' holdings in the sector, according to The Wall Street Journal. A spokesman for Cerberus did not return a call for comment.

Last week, the Carlyle Group hired Ned Kelly, the former CEO of Mercantile Bankshares, along with David Zwiener, former president and COO of Hartford Financial Services(HIG Quote), to head up its newly created financial institutions group. The unit will make investments in the banking and insurance space.

Mercantile, of Baltimore, was acquired by PNC Financial Services(PNC Quote) this spring.

The hires demonstrate how private-equity firms are turning to nontraditional sectors to do deals as they sit awash in capital from institutional investors that needs to be put to work. The firms are looking for experienced talent to sniff out potential LBO targets.

"The industry as a whole is becoming a lot more creative, and they are finding new ways to see value and create value in different industries because of the competition for deals," says Robert Kennedy, a private-equity and M&A attorney at Jones Day in New York.

Want more? Check out TheStreet.com TV video. Laurie Kulikowski takes a look at other names affected by this issue.