PNC Financial Services Group has named Robert Hoyt as general counsel. He will assume the post on May 31 from Helen Pudlin, who will be retiring after an 18-year stint with the company.

Hoyt, who joined PNC in 2009, most recently served as senior deputy general counsel. In this role, he was responsible for legal issues related to PNC's retail, asset management, and corporate and institutional businesses. He also led PNC's government relations effort, including its regulatory affairs, regulatory policy, and government affairs operations. In previous years, he served as chief regulatory-affairs officer.

Prior to joining PNC, Hoyt served as general counsel for the U.S. Department of the Treasury as senior policy adviser to then-Secretary Henry Paulson. Prior to joining the Treasury Department, Hoyt served as special assistant and associate counsel to then-President George W. Bush.  

Earlier in his career, Hoyt was a partner in the law firm Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr, and clerked for Justice Herbert Wilkins of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.