Wilmington Trust
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Financial services |
| Founded | July 8, 1903 in Wilmington, Delaware, United States |
| Founder | T. Coleman du Pont |
| Fate | Acquired by M&T Bank in 2010 |
| Headquarters | Wilmington, Delaware , United States |
Area served | United States, Europe (Dublin, Frankfurt, Paris, London) |
| Products | International corporate and institutional services, investment management, private banking |
| Parent | M&T Bank |
Wilmington Trust is recognized as one of the top ten American institutions by fiduciary asset size. It offers services in international corporate and institutional sectors, investment management, and private banking. The company was founded on July 8, 1903, by DuPont president T. Coleman du Pont as a banking, trust, and safe deposit institution, and later became a subsidiary of M&T Bank in 2010.
History
Founded by T. Coleman du Pont to oversee the duPont family's wealth, Wilmington Trust began with an initial market capitalization of $500,000, operating out of a former private home in Wilmington, Delaware. In 1907, the company relocated to the DuPont Building at the intersection of Tenth and Market Streets and issued its first dividend in 1908. Its inaugural merger occurred in 1912 when it combined First National Bank with the National Bank of Wilmington and Brandywine, establishing itself as the largest bank on the East Coast. Wilmington Trust was among the original members of NASDAQ at its inception in 1971 and transitioned its stock listing to the New York Stock Exchange in 1999.
On November 1, 2010, Wilmington Trust completed a merger with Buffalo-based M&T Bank, with Wilmington Trust valued at $3.84 per share—representing a 46% discount from its closing price two days earlier—and shareholders received 0.051 M&T shares for each Wilmington share owned. Following this transaction, Wilmington Trust voluntarily withdrew its listing from the NYSE in 2011.
As a leading fiduciary asset manager in the United States, Wilmington Trust holds a prominent position in wealth management and corporate service sectors.
In May 2018, several executives from Wilmington Trust were convicted by the United States Department of Justice for falsifying banking records and received prison sentences ranging between three and six years. These convictions were subsequently overturned by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, which acquitted most charges and ordered retrials on others; ultimately, the DOJ opted not to pursue further prosecution.
Offices
The Wilmington Trust Headquarters is situated within a repurposed post office building on Rodney Square in downtown Wilmington. The firm maintains domestic branch locations across major financial hubs including New York City, Los Angeles, Boston, Philadelphia, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Atlanta, Baltimore, Beverly Hills, Stamford, Connecticut, Palm Beach, Florida, West Chester, Pennsylvania, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, Villanova, Pennsylvania, Jacksonville, Florida, Birmingham, Alabama, and Charleston, South Carolina.
On an international scale, Wilmington Trust operates offices in strategic financial centers such as Dublin, Frankfurt, Paris, and London.
Its Newark, Delaware branch has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1982.