Trust assets increased slightly in 2012 from the previous year, although the overall numbers remain similar to what they have been ever since 2002, a new Spectrem Perspective reports.

The 2013 Personal Trust Update shows trust assets continue to increase or decline based on the performance of overall markets, and reflects the lack of organic growth of the trust industry. The total personal bank trust assets rebounded slightly in 2012 to $883 billion, an increase of $28 billion.

The number of total personal trust accounts within U.S. banking institutions continued their downward trend, settling at 628,000, a drop of 28,000 from 2011.

 Total industry gross income generated from personal trust and agency accounts remained flat in 2012, at $4.41 billion from $4.38 billion in 2011. That includes all income from testamentary trusts, revocable and irrevocable living trusts, other personal rusts and all non-managed personal agency accounts.

Gross income derived from defined contribution increased $100 million to $1.2 billion in 2012, while gross income generated from defined benefit trusts declined over $400 million to $1.28 billion in 2012.

Providing investment management and services for investment management agency accounts grew again by 10 percent, and is now the second largest income generating activity, moving past income from personal trusts. Custody remains first.

Custody and safekeeping are the largest category of gross income derived within a bank trust department. In 2012, revenue from custody and safekeeping services increased by over 26 percent and generated over $11 billion in gross income.

The top five providers generated $9.8 billion of the $11.2 billion in custody income from the entire U.S. bank trust industry.

For more information on the 2013 Personal Trust Update, click here.