Reliance Trust Co. has signed Deposit Guaranty Corp. as its second major client for corporate trust services in the past year.
Reliance Trust, which is based in Atlanta, said it will provide operational and systems support to Mississippi's largest bank holding company. Deposit Guaranty, which is based in Jackson, Miss., holds $5 billion in assets and administers more than $6 billion in outstanding debt through its corporate trust operation.
The agreement "will help us immensely from a market perception standpoint," said Tony Guthrie, a managing partner at Reliance Trust, which has assets of $1.5 billion.
Reliance Trust had announced a similar agreement with Atlanta-based Bank South Corp. in October 1993, assuming responsibilities for Bank South's corporate trust business valued at $3.4 billion in corporate and municipal debt outstanding.
Mr. Guthrie said Reliance Trust, which is one of the nation's largest independent trust companies, is currently talking to three or four other potential clients, which he declined to name.
Reliance Trust has expanded rapidly since it acquired new managers in 1992. All four principals, including Mr. Davis, had worked in the trust division of C&S/Sovran Corp., Atlanta, which was acquired by NCNB Corp. (now NationsBank Corp.) in 1991.
Mr. Guthrie said Reliance Trust would provide all of Deposit Guaranty's back-office processing in corporate trust "and work with them in managing, redirecting, and growing business in Mississippi.
"We can let them become a low-cost provider because we are a low-cost producer from our processing activities," Mr. Guthrie added.
