NEW YORK — While still a relatively new area for credit unions, trust services continue to command a profitable niche for other financial institutions.

The top 25 financial institutions in the country hold 92% of trust assets and earn 75% of the industry's $27.6 billion in revenue, according to Trust Companies: Firms, Products, Clients, and Technologies, a new report from Celent, LLC. Currently, there are less than 2,000 community banks, regional and super-regional banks, private trust organizations, and top tier global providers offering trust services in the United States.

It is generally acknowledged that a stand-alone trust department cannot be profitable on less than about $250 million in client assets under management, the report noted. Smaller accounts traditionally are charged higher fee rates, while stand-by and insurance trusts have to be charged at a per-unit rate, due to their inactivity, which is usually $100 to $1,000 per account, according to the report.