In the United States, the history of custodian banks dates back hundreds of years. The Bank of New York Mellon, which today holds more than $30 trillion in assets under custody (AUC), counted Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, and Thomas Jefferson among its founding
shareholders in 1781.
Today, custodians like BNY Mellon and State Street (which also holds $30+ trillion in AUC) perform essential functions for institutional investors: they safeguard assets like stocks and bonds, collect stock di