U.S. Trust

U.S. Trust, Bank of America Private Wealth Management (formerly known as U.S. Trust Corporation) was founded in 1853 as the United States Trust Company of New York. It operated independently until 2000, when it was acquired by Charles Schwab, and Co., and subsequently was sold to, and became a subsidiary of, Bank of America in 2007. U.S. Trust provides investment management, wealth structuring, and credit and lending services to clients.

U.S. Trust was founded in 1853 and chartered by the State of New York. It is the first and oldest trust company in the United States. The venture was backed by a group of wealthy men who invested $1 million in the company, at the time named United States Trust Company of New York. The inaugural board of trustees included thirty prominent New Yorkers. Among the founding investors were Joseph Lawrence of the Bank of the State of New York and then Mayor of New York who was appointed president, and John Aikman Stewart of the United States Life Insurance Company of New York who assumed the role of Secretary. Other founders included inventor, philanthropist and industrialist Peter Cooper, department store founder Marshall Field, Shepherd Knapp, President of Mechanics National Bank of the City of New York, and railroad developer and iron and steel manufacturer Erastus Corning.

U.S. Trust was created as a financial company to serve both institutions and individuals by acting as executor and trustee of their funds. At a time when trusts were rare, the concept was innovative. By 1886 the company had established itself as a reputable and stable financial institution.

In the mid-1800s, U.S. Trust had a list of wealthy clients and played a role in major construction projects including railroads and the Panama Canal. Many of the company’s corporate clients issued securities to finance these initiatives, allowing U.S. Trust to serve as corporate trustee. The boom in industry and enterprise also helped to grow U.S. Trust's business in managing personal trusts. In the 1880s and 90s U.S. Trust clients included William Waldorf Astor, Jay Gould and Oliver Harriman.

U.S. Trust withstood a number of financial crises throughout the latter half of the 1800s and into the 1900s. By 1928 it had more than $1 billion in trusted assets and led competitors by a considerable margin. An emphasis on stability helped it navigate the Wall Street Crash of 1929 and subsequent depression. The company began to introduce more personalized services including advising clients on schools and careers for their children. In 1958 U.S. Trust launched its first advertisements in society pages of newspapers, The New Yorker and the programs of the Metropolitan Opera and the New York Philharmonic Society.

...
Wikipedia