Banking - Delaware Business Times

Banking, Legal Services, New Castle County, News

Alaskan trust firm opens Wilmington office

Jacob Owens June 27, 2022

WILMINGTON – In marking its 25th anniversary, the Alaskan trust administration company Peak Trust Co. opened its first East Coast office in Wilmington on June 1. One of the leading trust companies nationwide, Anchorage-based Peak ...

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Banking, Government, News, Statewide

Legislature passes state-sponsored retirement plan

Jacob Owens June 22, 2022

DOVER – The Delaware General Assembly almost unanimously approved a new state-sponsored retirement savings program aimed to help individuals who don’t have access to an employer-sponsored program. House Bill 205, also known as the Delaware ...

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Banking, Economics, Government, Insider Only, News

🔒 State budget limit tops $6.5B as revenue grows

Jacob Owens June 21, 2022

DOVER – In their last report before the Fiscal Year 2023 budget is approved, Delaware’s independent fiscal analysts added $89.5 million to their estimated budget limit, which now totals more than $6.5 billion for next ...

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Banking, Commercial Real Estate, Insider Only, New Castle County, News

🔒 Goldman Sachs open for business at Riverfront

Katie Tabeling June 13, 2022

WILMINGTON — Goldman Sachs cut the ribbon on its new Riverfront office Monday morning long after quietly moving into the Star Building, with many state and local officials and scores of young professionals in attendance, ...

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Banking, Education, Insider Only, Kent County, New Castle County, News

🔒 DSU, M&T partner to mentor students, diversify talent

Guest Writer June 3, 2022

DOVER – Delaware State University (DSU) and M&T Bank are diversifying the banking industry — and the professional workforce more generally — through a growing mentorship program. The Executive Pipeline of Diversity (POD) Mentoring Program ...

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Peak Trust Co., based in Anchorage, Alaska, recently opened a Delaware office in north Wilmington. The firm's CEO, Matt Blattmachr, is pictured in red at right. | PHOTO COURTESY OF PEAK TRUST CO[/caption] WILMINGTON – In marking its 25th anniversary, the Alaskan trust administration company Peak Trust Co. opened its first East Coast office in Wilmington on June 1. One of the leading trust companies nationwide, Anchorage-based Peak Trust Co. has long had an eye on Delaware, said Matt Blattmachr, the firm’s CEO. Formerly named Alaska Trust Co., the firm changed its name in 2016 when it opened an office in Nevada and the First State was its targeted third stop – and therefore covering the three top-tier markets for the creation of trusts. “We have a lot of clients on the East Coast, and specifically in Delaware, and that with Delaware's great trust laws made the decision pretty easy,” he told Delaware Business Times, estimating that upwards of a third of clients live on the East Coast. A firm four time zones away from Wilmington may seem like a strange pairing for clients here, but Blattmachr explained that the connection goes back to the firm’s founding in 1997, when the Alaska Trust Act was passed. That act, among other things, gave greater flexibility in the administration of trusts by allowing directed trusts and by allowing self-settled trusts, which allowed beneficiaries to also claim tax benefits. The act – not unlike the impact of Delaware’s 1981 Financial Center Development Act – led to an influx of trust clients to Alaska, including many from Delaware. The First State quickly followed suit and passed largely identical laws for trusts, as have nearly two dozen other states, but the first-adopter status has kept Alaska among the busiest states, Blattmachr said. While many people probably think of wealthy families establishing trusts to pass down funds to their children, Blattmachr said they have more clients with smaller sums of money for children with special needs or who lost parents in an accident. Others have set up trusts to perpetually assist nonprofits or charities of their choice. Peak Trust administers about 3,000 accounts for 2,000 families, with clients in all 50 states, Blattmachr said. While it doesn’t manage investments in securities like an investment firm, Peak Trust manages at least $10 billion in assets on behalf of its trustors, he added. “We do the not-so-sexy things of trust administration: taxes, legal filings, distribution processing, etc. That's really our bread and butter,” Blachmattr said. “One of the foundational goals of the trust company was to be a full-service provider, but offer the services a la carte, so clients can pick just what they need, and not more than what they want.” Peak Trust, which has more than 30 employees nationwide, opened its Delaware office at The Concord off Silverside Road in north Wilmington with four employees. “We plan to grow that rapidly assuming that this is a successful endeavor,” Blattmachr said, noting they expect to be closer to 40 employees by the end of the year.