A page 1 article Monday "American Express Will Offer Trust Nationwide" mentioned Legg Mason Inc. as an example of a nonbank that had opted to offer trust services through alliances rather than own all of a trust venture.
Legg Mason's joint venture with the Boston law firm Bingham, Dana & Gould, which was mentioned in the article, is in fact part of a trust business initiative by the Baltimore broker-dealer. In September, Legg Mason received a federal thrift charter that gave it, like American Express, national trust powers.
Legg Mason Trust FSB, which has about $2.4 billion of trust assets under management, provides trust services to Legg Mason's clients and those of its affiliates, including the joint venture, which started operating in October.
"Mason had decided that the national trust company would be the centerpiece of integrated wealth management services," said Jennifer Lambdin Reynolds, vice chairman of Legg Mason Trust FSB.
