NORTHERN TRUST CORP

The Northern Trust Corporation was founded by Byron Laflin Smith, a respected banker, in 1889. From humble beginnings in a single room, Northern Trust would become a full-fledged organization and move to a permanent location by 1906. Northern trust created the first life insurance trust, introducing an employee insurance plan and pension plan in 1912 and 1913, respectively. Although, like other banks, Northern Trust would be hit hard during the stock market crash of 1929, it continued to attract clients thanks to its conservative policies. Northern Trust Corporation continued to grow during the following decades, doubling in size when the bank capitalized on war opportunities in the 1940s. In the 1950s, Northern Trust focused on adapting to new advances in technology, becoming one of the first financial institutions to process electronic checks by 1962 and offering new automation techniques and services. Smith’s son, Edward Byron Smith, assumed the leadership in 1963, when the growing bank had totaled assets of over $1 billion. During this decade Northern Trust would begin to expand outside of the United States, opening a London branch office in 1969. Northern Trust would expand into the southern and western states during the 1970s and 80s, suffering some losses during the oil drops of the early 1980s. In 1979, Edward Smith stepped down, followed by three others who guided the bank through difficult times. By the time David Fox took over in 1990, Northern Trust had grown to become the 11th most profitable of the 100 largest banks in the nation. In 1998, the Northern Trust Global Investments was created, structuring focused investment management capabilities for personal and institutional clients. To keep up with the competition, Northern Trust has continued to open new offices and create new products and services, creating a network of 85 offices that span the globe. Northern Trust now employs over 14 thousand employees and holds almost a trillion in assets under management. Some of its notable mutual funds include International Equity, Mid and Large Cap Equity, and Global Sustainability Index.