Union Bank of California announced today that it had opened an institutional representative trust office in New York City. The office is located at 540 Madison Avenue and complements the company’s existing trust and retirement plan operations in California, Oregon and Washington.
The Union Bank team will provide relationship management services for institutional clients using the company’s SelectBenefit bundled 401(k) plan, business trust, and investment management services. The office will also engage in business development activities.
According to Piet Westerbeek, Union Bank executive vice president and head of the bank’s institutional services and asset management division, the opening of the new office supports the bank’s overall strategy to grow its trust and investment management business and leverage the company’s strengths in relationship management. “The New York office will enable us to provide even higher levels of support to our East Coast clients, while providing the bank with new opportunities for business development.”
As part of the overall growth strategy, Union Bank recently acquired a substantial portion of the trust and institutional custody business from First National Bank of San Diego and its subsidiary, Generations Trust Bank, N.A. The acquisition provided Union Bank with new personal trust, institutional and employee benefit trust accounts.
Union Bank is the only trust organization that provides comprehensive in-house services for multi-currency custody, securities lending, business trust, investment management and bundled 401(k) plan services with all client account operations based in the West.
The bank’s institutional services and asset management division has more than $140 billion in assets under administration servicing these markets.
Union Bank of California already maintains a presence in New York City through an international operations office, which provides correspondent banking and trade-finance services worldwide.