Trust Offices Proliferate in Wealthy Connecticut

Connecticut bankers are trying to reach deeper into the state's pockets of wealth by opening more local trust offices.

Last week $5.6 billion-asset Webster Financial Corp., Waterbury, said it had acquired Sachem Trust, a Guilford-based bank that specializes in trust and investment management.

Webster's lead subsidiary, Webster Bank, which is a thrift, plans to merge Sachem with the trust department of another pending acquisition, Peoples Savings Financial Corp. of New Britain.

Sachem and Peoples have about $300 million and $327 million of trust assets under management, respectively, and a total of 42 employees who are expected to stay on.

"We're looking to not just get into the trust business, but get in the trust business with critical mass to start," said Jeffrey N. Brown, Webster executive vice president for marketing.

Webster's move follows those of veteran trust players eager to enter the Connecticut market. Boston-based State Street Corp. opened a trust and investment office in tony Greenwich late last month and U.S. Trust Co. of Connecticut has also expanded.

And a group of locals, including Michael M. Cassell, the former president of Greenwich-based Putnam Trust Co., a subsidiary of the Bank of New York Co., has applied to Connecticut's Banking Department to charter the Bank of Greenwich, which would provide trust as well as banking services.

The rush to build trust units in the Nutmeg State reflects a realization that wealthy clients prefer to meet their bankers face to face.

"People still like to deal with people, particularly when they get into more substantial and complex situations," said Kenneth R. Nye, vice president and trust officer of People's Bank, Bridgeport.

The $7.6 billion-asset People's has expanded its trust department from existing locations in Bridgeport, Fairfield, and Stamford to Southport and New Haven. A Hartford trust office will open this year.

Though retail bankers have scaled back on the expense of branches, many private bankers hope that the benefit of getting more from the wealthy will exceed the cost, according to David B. Master, managing director of Optima Group Inc., a Fairfield-based consulting firm.

"From Scarsdale to Westport you've got this string of communities. There are towns filled with old wealth, inherited wealth, senior corporate executives, and up-and-comers," Mr. Master said.

"A lot of the institutions are making a bet that these customers would rather have easy local access," he added.

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