Bankers Trust
New York
About Bankers Trust
Bankers Trust was a historic American banking organization. The bank merged with Alex. Brown & Sons before being acquired by Deutsche Bank in 1998. In 1903 a group of New York national banks formed trust company Bankers Trust to provide trust services to customers of state and national banks throughout the country on the premise that it would not lure commercial bank customers away. In addition to offering the usual trust and commercial banking functions, it also acted as a "bankers' bank" by holding the reserves of other banks and trust companies and loaning them money when they needed additional reserves due to unexpected withdrawals. Bankers Trust Company was incorporated on March 24, 1903, with an initial capital of $1.5 million. Despite technically having numerous stockholders, the voting power was held by three associates of J.P. Morgan. Thus, it was widely viewed as a Morgan company. J. P. Morgan himself held a controlling interest. Bankers Trust quickly grew to be the second largest U.S. trust company and a dominant Wall Street institution. During the Panic of 1907, Bankers Trust worked closely with J.P. Morgan to help avoid a general financial collapse by lending money to sound banks. In 1911 it acquired the Mercantile Company and a year later the Manhattan Trust Company. In 1980, Bankers Trust exited retail banking under the direction of its CEO, Alfred Brittain III. Bankers Trust became a leader in the nascent derivatives business under the management of Charlie Sanford, who succeeded Alfred Brittain III, in the early 1990s. Having de-emphasized traditional loans in favor of trading, the bank became an acknowledged leader in risk management. Lacking the boardroom contacts of its larger rivals, notably J. P. Morgan, BT attempted to make a virtue of necessity by specializing in trading and in product innovation.
Company Facts
- Operating status: Closed
- IPO status: Private
- Employees: 10,001+
Social Profiles
Canonical: https://fsome.com/organization/bankers-trust-2383738 · For the full interactive profile (charts, investors, team, acquisitions, press), please enable JavaScript.