Merger Speculation Engulfs Northern Trust

The Wall Street Journal reported in June that BNY (in full, the Bank of New York Mellon Corporation, NYSE: BK, which has seen solid share price growth over the past year, Q2 2025 revenue of $5bn) had approached Northern Trust about a potential merger. 

Northern Trust's Chairman and CEO (Mike O'Grady) retorted saying it remains committed to being fully independent. Mike has an MBA from Harvard Business School.

There have been hopes of looser regulation under Trump which would give a boost to banking M&A, however Senator Elizabeth Warren warned a merger could violate federal banking laws.

A major part of Northern Trust's business is asset servicing, which consists of administrative and operational tasks performed by custodians of financial assets on behalf of clients.