A
trust company is a
corporation, especially a
commercial bank, organized to perform the
fiduciary of trusts and agencies. It is normally owned by one of three types of structures: an independent partnership, a bank, or a law firm, each of which specializes in being a trustee of various kinds of trusts and in managing estates. Trust companies are not required to exercise all of the powers that they are granted. Further, the fact that a trust company in one jurisdiction does not perform all of the trust company duties in another jurisdiction is irrelevant and does not have any bearing on whether either company is truly a "trust company". Therefore, it is safe to say that the term "trust company" must not be narrowly construed.