ABSTRACT
Between 1875 and 1900, the assets of trust companies in New York City grew at a compound annual rate of 9.6", compared with 4.1" for national banks and 5.4" for state banks located in the City. By the mid–1870's the phrase "trust company" was widely employed in the titles of specific companies and, to a lesser extent, as a generic term referring to a class of companies. In the 1870–1900 period, trust companies were created and regulated by state law. In New York two pieces of legislation during this period were especially important for the trust company movement: The Act of 1874, and the Act of 1887. The Annual Reports of the New York Superintendent of Banking indicate that at one time or another in the 1870–1900 period a total of 41 trust companies were in operation. In 1880, the Chronicle gave the trust company stocks a separate listing, under the title "Trust Company Stocks".
