Banks Losing Trusts

A new report by Spectrem Group has found that bank trust departments need an overhaul, as personal trust accounts held at U.S. banks dropped 23% and assets held in these accounts slipped 10% in 2005.

The report, 2006 Update on Trust Assets Among U.S. Banks, is based upon FDIC surveys of member trust institutions as well as data from Spectrem’s 2005 Ultra High Net Worth Market Analysis. The report found that personal trust assets held by U.S. banks fell 10% to $986.2 billion in 2005 from a peak of $1.1 trillion in 1999. The number of personal trust accounts at U.S. banks dropped 23% to 719,658 in 2005 from 929,036 in 1999.