Northern Trust Is Getting Its Passport Renewed

Northern Trust Co. in Chicago has upgraded its corporate and institutional products by integrating all seven at one Web site.

The $31 billion-asset bank's roughly 1,100 corporate and institutional clients will be able to customize the site, branded Passport, and use a single sign-on for all product suites, which include retirement planning, securities lending, custody, and foreign exchange.

"We're pulling together the different things we do with each community" of users, said Michael F. McGlinn, senior vice president.

Northern Trust, a subsidiary of the multibank holding company Northern Trust Corp. of Chicago, launched Passport in 1994. Mr. McGlinn, who in August was named the Internet "lightning rod" for Northern Trust's corporate and institutional business unit, said the bank is revising its Web strategy.

In the area of retirement planning, for example, Northern Trust is expanding beyond its traditional back-office record-keeping role and plans to offer investment advice and on-line trading, Mr. McGlinn said.

Mr. McGlinn and his team have been working on strategic changes since late August, when he was named the Internet "lightning rod" for the corporate and institutional business unit. With the additional title of client Internet manager, Mr. McGlinn was assigned to develop, manage, and communicate the division's Internet strategy.

Northern Trust has announced other Web-focused positions in recent months. Jana Schreuder was named to head Internet strategy for corporate electronic commerce; Peter Ruegsegger, for personal financial services, and Robert Leighton for global investment.

As its clients pursue new Internet opportunities, Northern Trust wants to be prepared to follow with appropriate services. For the increasing number of corporations building their own venture-capital funds, it may offer securities tracking, performance calculation, and management of physical securities.

Northern Trust also is exploring new ways to serve its private banking customers. With its 110-year history of private banking, Northern Trust is on familiar ground here, but it recognizes that different delivery channels are in order when it comes to Internet millionaires.

The bank has become more receptive to partnering with other companies in Web ventures, Mr. McGlinn said. Reuters, for instance, is pumping news and other content through Northern Trust's foreign exchange module. Financial Engines is providing its financial planning tools to the bank's retirement planning service.

Northern Trust is the principal subsidiary of Northern Trust Corp., which has locations in states including New York, Arizona, Colorado, and Florida. The parent also has operations in London, Hong Kong, and other overseas locations; it had $299 billion of assets under management and $1.54 trillion in assets under administration at yearend.

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