Northern Trust Private Banking Chief Yields Fla. Reins

The executive who has been running Northern Trust Corp.'s highly successful Florida unit has been freed of those duties to concentrate on expanding the $21 billion-asset banking company's private banking business in Arizona, California, Florida, and Texas.

Mark Stevens, 49, has been the Chicago-based company's executive vice president in charge of personal financial services since January. But until last week, he also was running Northern Trust of Florida Corp., a $1.95 billion-asset subsidiary that on a percentage basis outperformed its parent.

Vice chairman William L. Morrison, 46, succeeds Mr. Stevens as chairman in Miami, after joining the Northern Trust unit in March from NationsBank. Mr. Stevens will now concentrate on developing personal finance, which at Northern Trust includes all private banking, trust, and investment management for individuals as well as money management for corporations with annual revenues ranging from $3 million to $100 million.

Mr. Stevens, who has worked at Northern Trust since 1979, said his goal is continued, aggressive expansion.

"Every time we model an expansion effort we have a timetable that is roughly half of that of a traditional banking office," he said. "We expect an office to turn in the black in three years."

Mr. Stevens said Northern Trust will open three to five new offices per year through 2001 and strive for a even balance between fee-based income from asset management and deposit-related net interest income.

Northern Trust also is looking to make more money off personal finance outside Illinois. Currently, 58% of the income is made in the Chicago area.

"We are darn selective about the markets we go into. We do a fair amount of pre-work in a market and have a strong sales effort in place six months to a year before we open," Mr. Stevens said.

Mr. Stevens' practiced method of setting up beachheads in regions with burgeoning affluence served Northern Trust well in Florida.

Northern Trust of Florida, which manages $14.2 billion in trust assets, has been on an expansive tear in the Sunshine State, where 22 of the corporation's 55 offices are located. Controlling expenses during expansion is a hallmark of Northern Trust, according to New York-based private banking consultant David Ross Palmer.

"In the last three years they have gone a long way toward trimming their costs and are ready to move at generating revenue," Mr. Palmer said. "Mark is very good at that."

Northern Trust of Florida reported earnings of $23.1 million for the first half of 1996, a 33% increase over the prior comparable period. That's better than its parent's 22% increase in earnings to $124.9 million through June 30.

Northern's recent prosperity in Florida can be directly traced to Mr. Stevens' shrewd business nature, according to a consultant who researched the competition for him.

"He's a very sharp man. He's one of those guys that just seems to have his finger on everything," said Gary R. Cohn, president of U.S. Datatron Inc., Palm Beach Gardens. "They don't do things by accident. They don't bring products to market or change fees without doing some homework."

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