BNY Reportedly Pitched Merger to Northern Trust

Bank of New York Mellon (BNY) has reportedly approached Northern Trust about a merger.

The deal would mark a milestone for financial services, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported Sunday (June 20), combining two of the biggest asset-servicing businesses and establishing an investment-management goliath overseeing upwards of $3 trillion.

Sources told WSJ the CEOs of both financial institutions have had at least one conversation without discussing a specific offer.

The sources added that BNY is weighing its next move, which could include returning to Northern Trust with a formal offer, but stressed that it’s possible the talks won’t lead to a deal. PYMNTS has contacted Northern Trust for comment but has not yet gotten a reply. A spokesperson for BNY declined to comment.

WSJ noted that any deal “would be huge,” as Northern Trust, based in Chicago, has a market value of more than $21 billion, with its share price climbing 9% this year.

The report also pointed out that the Trump administration has indicated more openness to greenlighting major bank mergers, which have been rare in recent years.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) in March announced its intent to roll back a policy that had increased oversight into large bank mergers.

The regulator’s proposal would rescind the group’s 2024 Statement of Policy on Bank Merger Transactions, replacing it — for the moment — with an earlier merger rule amid a larger look into the merger review process.

Under the past rule, mergers that would lead to financial institutions with assets of at $100 billion or more would be subject to “heightened financial stability analysis.”

As covered here last month, bankers have been lobbying Congress to relax the regulations involved in merging or opening banks.

ReShonda Young, founder of the Iowa-based Bank of Jabez, testified before a House subcommittee that in meetings with banking consultants and regulators, a pre-opening checklist involved 74 items.

“Pair that with average pre-opening expenses of $800,000 to $1.5 million and post-charter capital needs of at least $20 million, and most people would abort the mission,” she said.

In other banking news, PYMNTS wrote last week about recent research into banks’ use of real-time payments. Among banks that exclusively offer real-time payments to business customers, 28% point to enhanced payment tracking as a key advantage. This figure is much higher than for banks serving just consumers, highlighting the unique value businesses derive from this feature.

“Instant payments offer a level of operational transparency that traditional methods cannot match, allowing businesses to monitor the exact status and location of funds in real time,” PYMNTS wrote. “This granular visibility is crucial for businesses managing their cash flow and ensuring operational efficiency.”