Northern Trust history

Despite the panic in the financial industry due to bank closures and industrial insolvencies across the United States in 1893, which, in turn, led to a general economic decline for several years, Northern's fortunes continued to improve.

By 1895 deposits totaled $10.5 million.

Declaring its first dividend in July 1896, Northern began to grow rapidly.

By 1906, Northern Trust had grown from a single room into a flourishing organization, and moved into a permanent home at 50 South La Salle Street.

Since its founding, the bank had only made collateral loans, but now aware that this policy stymied growth, the board of directors approved Northern's purchase of commercial paper in 1912.

In March 1914, Byron Laflin Smith died and his son, Solomon Albert Smith, took over the bank.

When the United States finally entered the war in 1917, Northern acted as a depository for the Alien Property Custodian Act and held over $500 million in enemy assets.

But by 1922 the "Roaring Twenties" was in full swing, a time when public confidence in the economy was at its highest, and throughout the nation investors were enticed into highly speculative markets.

Two days after his inauguration on March 6, 1933, Franklin D. Roosevelt closed all the banks in the United States.

The war created more opportunities for the bank; all sectors of its business expanded, and by 1945 the Northern Trust had doubled in size.

In October 1963, Solomon A. Smith died.

In the 1960s, our clients began to develop business interests outside the United States. Therefore, in 1969, Northern Trust opened a London office, making us the first Illinois-chartered financial institution to open a branch outside the United States.

The company was founded in 1971 and is headquartered in Chicago, IL.“

In 1974, the United States Congress passed the Employee Retirement and Income Security Act.

Edward Byron Smith retired as chief executive officer in 1979.

In 1981, when the state finally permitted Illinois banks to acquire banks in Cook and the surrounding counties, Northern immediately took advantage of the law and acquired O'Hare International Bank in Park Ridge, First Security Bank in Oakbrook, and First National Bank of Lake Forest.

By 1982, many wealthy families and individuals were using family offices.

In 1984, Weston Christopherson, former CEO of Jewel, took the helm.

In 1986, the bank acquired First Lake Forest Corporation for $61 million in cash.

In 1988 a trust subsidiary was created with offices in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Santa Barbara, California.

In 1989 the acquisition of Concorde Bank in Dallas, Texas, provided Northern with access to business opportunities in one more state.

In 1990 the bank administered trust assets worth over $5 billion in South Florida alone.

By the end of 1993, the bank has plans for forty-three offices in five states.

In July 2005, Northern Trust and Enron reached a $365 million settlement with 20,000 employees of Enron after the energy company's collapse (see Enron scandal). Northern Trust had managed the 401k plan for Enron's employeees, who alleged mismanagement and breach of fiduciary duty.

In 2009 Northern Trust was one of 3 banks able to gain large profits.

In the 10 years preceding 2014, the company gave over $120 million in support of non-profit organizations.

On October 2, 2017, Northern Trust acquired UBS Asset Management's fund administration servicing units in Switzerland and Luxembourg.

Effective January 1, 2018, Michael O'Grady became chief executive officer of the company.