Steve Garmhausen

Credit Suisse says its $425 million minority-stake purchase fits within the bank's asset management strategy of focusing on alternative investments, asset allocation and emerging markets business globally.

UMB Financial Corp. has added an insurance brokerage leg to its distribution structure for health savings accounts.

Looking to fill a growing need for advisers for its brokerage business at a reasonable cost, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. has been training promising candidates in-house, in a departure from standard bank practice.

Establishing a presence in China is slow going, but Northern Trust Corp., which recently won approval for a Beijing branch office, believes the payoff will be worth the wait.

Provident Bank's wealth management group is betting that wealthy people are fed up with being nickel-and-dimed by their banks.

The Boston company, known for its passive asset management, appears poised to expand its small active management business.

Community banks reported investment program income of $110.1 million for the first quarter, up from 4.6% in '09's fourth quarter and a 12.6% jump from the first quarter of '09.

Fiduciary Trust Co. in Boston is hoping a high-profile ad campaign will help burnish its image as more than just a venerable old trust company.

The service, available to private bank clients, aims to help older people maintain their independence and quality of life.

Robert Matthews was looking to build a firm like Fieldpoint Private Bank & Trust when he realized it already existed.

Revenue and profits from wealth management—which includes private banking, trust, special assets management, private wealth planning and investments —were both up double digits last year and are on track to grow at least that much in 2010, according to Mary Curran, executive vice president of the wealth management group at Union Bank.

Although Northeast Bancorp's insurance unit is eking out growth of 1% to 2%, the poor market means its plans for faster growth will have to wait.

Demand for health savings accounts seems to be reviving after a long period of inertia that preceded the passage of health care reform.

The wealth management group at Bank of the West of San Francisco, has benefited from the market rebound, but owes much of its growth to new assets.

Brokers started streaming from wire houses a couple of years ago, and judging from the experience of Columbia State Bank in Tacoma, there are plenty still interested in leaving.

BB&T Corp.'s mutual fund family has had a dramatic gain in assets over the past year, and the bank's asset management arm is laying the groundwork for more expansion.

New distribution momentum in bank brokerages and other intermediary channels is a source of good news for T. Rowe, which has been successfully rebuilding its assets under management while it expands its presence overseas.