BOSTON, March 11 (Reuters) - Financial services company Northern Trust Corp is interested in buying a fund administrator or asset manager, its chief executive said on Thursday, not long after rivals revealed a string of takeovers.
At a time many banks are still eager to sell off some divisions and as several of Northern's rivals have expanded their footprints abroad, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Frederick Waddell said the company is keeping its eyes open for suitable targets.
'If we could get a fund administrator or asset manager, that would be of interest to us,' Waddell said at the Citigroup Financial Services Conference in New York.
Unlike many rivals, Chicago-based Northern Trust has made very few acquisitions in the last years, preferring to grow its assets organically. The company has $627 billion in assets under management and $3.7 trillion in assets under custody.
But as the pace of consolidation picks up in the asset management and custody industries, Northern -- known for its generally conservative style -- might have to consider making a move or two, some analysts have said.
On Monday, Bank of New York Mellon Corp, the world's largest custodian of financial assets, said it would buy Germany's BHF Asset Servicing GmbH for $343 million. A month ago, the New York-based company purchased PNC Financial Services Group Inc's fund services unit.
At the end of 2009, Boston-based State Street Corp, one of the world's biggest money managers for institutions, announced plans to buy the securities services arm of Intesa Sanpaolo, Italy's biggest retail bank.
Northern's Personal Financial Services division, which caters to very wealthy families, has 18 offices in the United States with a handful of offices in California, Florida and the Northeast. Waddell said the company would be especially interested in finding acquisition targets in areas where the company is already strong -- like on the east and west coasts.
Waddell also said that the time is currently not right to raise the dividend. 'We would like to raise the dividend at the appropriate time, but now is not that time,' Waddell said.
Unlike some rivals, Northern has kept its dividend steady for some time, paying out 28 cents per share every quarter since raising it to that level in the fourth quarter of 2007.
(Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss, editing by Gerald E. McCormick) Keywords: NORTHERNTRUST/ (Svea.Herbst@Reuters.com; +1 617 856 4331; Reuters Messaging: svea.herbst.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
At a time many banks are still eager to sell off some divisions and as several of Northern's rivals have expanded their footprints abroad, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Frederick Waddell said the company is keeping its eyes open for suitable targets.
'If we could get a fund administrator or asset manager, that would be of interest to us,' Waddell said at the Citigroup Financial Services Conference in New York.
Unlike many rivals, Chicago-based Northern Trust has made very few acquisitions in the last years, preferring to grow its assets organically. The company has $627 billion in assets under management and $3.7 trillion in assets under custody.
But as the pace of consolidation picks up in the asset management and custody industries, Northern -- known for its generally conservative style -- might have to consider making a move or two, some analysts have said.
On Monday, Bank of New York Mellon Corp, the world's largest custodian of financial assets, said it would buy Germany's BHF Asset Servicing GmbH for $343 million. A month ago, the New York-based company purchased PNC Financial Services Group Inc's fund services unit.
At the end of 2009, Boston-based State Street Corp, one of the world's biggest money managers for institutions, announced plans to buy the securities services arm of Intesa Sanpaolo, Italy's biggest retail bank.
Northern's Personal Financial Services division, which caters to very wealthy families, has 18 offices in the United States with a handful of offices in California, Florida and the Northeast. Waddell said the company would be especially interested in finding acquisition targets in areas where the company is already strong -- like on the east and west coasts.
Waddell also said that the time is currently not right to raise the dividend. 'We would like to raise the dividend at the appropriate time, but now is not that time,' Waddell said.
Unlike some rivals, Northern has kept its dividend steady for some time, paying out 28 cents per share every quarter since raising it to that level in the fourth quarter of 2007.
(Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss, editing by Gerald E. McCormick) Keywords: NORTHERNTRUST/ (Svea.Herbst@Reuters.com; +1 617 856 4331; Reuters Messaging: svea.herbst.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
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