The story of the trust companies, Volume 3 by Edward Ten Broeck Perine,

The story of the trust companies, Volume 3 by Edward Ten Broeck Perine, G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1916, page 216,

Returning now to the individual narratives of companies formed since 1900, a new development of 1902 is to be recorded. The Equitable Trust Company of New York had been established in 1871 by a special act of the Legislature, under the name of the Traders' Deposit Company. This was changed in 1895 to the American Deposit & Loan Company. The principal business of the Company from that time until 1902 was that of making loans on lifeinsurance policies. The Company's affairs were managed largely by interests identified with the Equitable Life Assurance Society, the owner of a controlling stock interest. In 1902 the name was changed to the Equitable Trust Company of New York, and its field of activity was extended to include all banking and trust functions. The Bowling Green Trust Company was absorbed in 1909 and the Trust Company of America in 1912, the latter having itself previously taken over the Colonial Trust Company, the North American Trust Company, and the City Trust Company.

As a result of the insurance investigations in 1905, and the legislation which soon followed, it became necessary for the Equitable Life Assurance Society to dispose of its stock investments. At that time President Alvin W. Krech bought the entire Equitable Life holdings and distributed them to a number of influential interests. By this distribution the Equitable Trust Company of New York was made an entirely independent company—that is to say, not controlled by any single interest, or number of interests, to be identified or classed as particular financial groups.

Under President Krech, the Equitable has grown to remarkable proportions. Its capital is $3,000,000; its present surplus and undivided profits are over $ 10,000,000. The Company's balance sheet of ten years ago footed about $55,000,000, as compared with an aggregate of over $170,000,000 on June 30, 1916, thus making the Company fifth in size in New York City as well as the United States. The increase of the business of the Trust Department has kept pace with the deposits, and the Company now holds securities for account of others, or under its trusts, aggregating more than $1,250,000,000 of face value. Its Foreign Exchange Department has grown with remarkable rapidity and ranks third in the city for annual turnover during 1915.

Prior to 1912 the offices of the Company were at No. 15 Nassau Street, from which location it was driven by the Equitable Building fire in January of that year. The Company's business was not even halted by this serious conflagration. Through the good offices of its depository banks, the tellers of the Equitable Trust met that day's checks on schedule time and the Company was established and doing business in temporary quarters at No. 115 Broadway before noon. It now occupies its own building at No. 37 Wall Street and the banking floor in the connecting building at No. 43 Exchange Place. Its New York branches are located at No. 618 Fifth Avenue and No. 222 Broadway, the latter having been the home of the former Colonial Trust Company. Branches are also maintained in London and Pa

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