HOW TO SERVE LEGAL PAPERS ON THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON

With a very rich history behind this Institution, The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation is among the three oldest banking companies in the United States and one of the forerunner banks in the world via its Bank of New York ancestor. This fact is evidenced by the Bank having been instituted in June 1784 by a party that encompassed American Founding Fathers Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr.

Although The Bank of New York Mellon itself came together in 2007, its veneration is a product of the culmination of a merger of two of America’s most long-standing banks. The Bank of New York was founded in 1784, Mellon Financial in 1869.

HOW DOES BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON CONDUCT OPERATIONS

The Bank of New York Mellon has operations in thirty-five countries all throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, and Asia-Pacific.  The bank’s key responsibilities are the management and service of institutional and high-net-worth clientele portfolios. Investment Services and Investment Management are the company’s two major divisions, which would include products for all stages of investing, spanning formation to trade, holding, administration, transmission, and consolidation. A majority of  Fortune 500 firms are among the financial institution’s leading customers.

Bank of New York Mellon follows the tradition of its ancestors and has two separate market monitoring entities that exist as separate business reporting segments being [A.] investment management and investment services. The differentiation is perplexing by its moniker; however, the former is consolidated into a single subsidiary, being The Bank of New York Mellon. However, wealth management that performs the asset services function of the group is managed by a subsidiary called BNY Mellon.

UNDERSTANDING BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON SUBSIDIARIES

There still exist somewhat more microscale subsidiaries of the BNY, the majority of whom are devoted to trusts, featuring the BNY Mellon Investment Servicing Trust Company, BNY Mellon Trust Company of Illinois, BNY Mellon Trust Company of Delaware, and The Bank of New York Mellon Trust Company.

The bewilderingly similar names for the subsidiaries add confusion to understanding the difference in the management of Bank of New York Mellon and its subsidiaries, especially with regards to New York City Process Service efforts in order to determine the entity. Critics may also indicate an international bent to this confusing tendency with reference to The Bank of New York Mellon SA/NV, the firm’s primary European activity. The corporation operates a number of hundreds of branches, the overwhelming bulk of which is incorporated in the United States or the British Isles, although they are frequently reached out to for out-of-state or international New York City Process Service purposes.  

Understanding the two major subsidiaries of the Bank Of New York Mellon is imperative.

Investment Services: Investment Services accounts for a majority of the bank’s income, with over USD thirty trillion in assets under management or control. The company provides financial resources such as wealth management, alternate fund management, broker-dealer services, corporate trust services, and treasury services. Additionally, global liquidity facilities, foreign exchange, bond lending, middle- and back-office outsourcing, and depository receipts are accessible.

Pershing LLC, a division of the group, provides securities facilities such as execution, arbitration, and clearance. Additionally, it assists investment advisors in backroom operations. The business instituted a comprehensive Markets Group in 2014 to provide collateral management, securities financing, foreign exchange, and capital markets services. BNY Mellon Markets is the new moniker for the sector.

Investment Management: BNY Mellon’s Investment Management business generates a smaller amount of the company’s revenue with still about a trillion in assets under management. It operates several asset management boutiques and remains the leading largest multi-boutique investment manager in the world.

BNY Mellon’s Wealth Management unit handles the private banking, estate planning, family office services, and investment servicing and management of high-net-worth individuals and families.  The Wealth Management division has attempted to expand its scope including opening eight new banking offices and launching an awareness campaign for wealth management services through advertising.

Over the past few years and the targeting of its rivals towards a more hi-tech banking system, the bank is focusing on developing an innovative software-driven and digital society. The corporation has been using artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI) to automate end-to-end processes in order to increase efficiency and mitigate operational expenses through infrastructure. Bank of New York Mellon has thus upgraded their storage centers and are working with fintech firms and other financial entities to identify and execute technological solutions.

As a result, the Bank of New York Mellon is expected to continue investing in technology growth. This investment would not only strengthen the company’s current infrastructure but will also allow it to acquire new technologies like its contemporaries.

HOW TO SERVE legal papers on THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON

While providing New York City Process Service and furnishing legal documents to the Bank of New York Mellon, especially a summons, it is important to comply with the requirements of documentation. As per New York City Process Service regulations, details must be provided as to the court and the parties, and it is imperative to address the right entity in order for the summons to be directed to the subsidiary and to include the relevant details as to name and address. Any legal documentation directed must also be signed by the Clerk of the Court and bear the court’s seal.

Rule 4(m) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the rules of New York City Process Service generally requires that the summons and complaint be served within ninety days of the date the complaint is filed. However, the court can extend the time, usually done to serve within ninety days after the date the summons is issued. If the complaint is not served within that time, the plaintiff should request an extension of time for service by complying with New York City Process Service regulations. 

To allow the effective plying of service on Bank of New York Mellon through the U.S. Marshals Service, the Clerk of Court is instructed to fill out a U.S. Marshals Service Process Receipt and Return form (‘USM-285 form’) for the purpose of New York City Process Service. The Clerk of Court is further instructed to issue a summons complying with federal regulations as well as New York City Process Service regulations and deliver to the Marshals Service all the paperwork necessary for the Marshals Service to affect New York City Process Service on the bank. Service will be effective on the date the papers are received provided that New York City Process Service has complied with all statutory requirements for effectuation.

DISCLOSURES AND SEC REQUIREMENTS FOR THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON

For disclosure, the Bank of New York Mellon provided a listing of the Form 10-K concerning the Annual Reports stipulated with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Considering that a major portion of the firm’s business happens through its trust services, it is necessary for the Bank of New York Mellon to be eligible as a trustee as per the Trust Indenture Act of 1939 and as under the  Securities Exchange Act of 1934. 

The exhibits within the index of the Form need to be provided for easy access. It is a straightforward process to obtain a few cost copies of the Annual Report or proxy statement as filed with the SEC. Additionally, upon serving a written request either by email or to the physical address of the Corporate Secretary, whichever complies with the requirements of New York City Process Service, further information may be procured. Annual reports on the form itself are made available upon the company website, with quarterly reports as per Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K also being made available.

It is required to provide information as to the reports and amendments to those reports as soon as reasonably practicable after electronically filing such materials with or furnishing them to, the SEC pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the ‘Exchange Act’). Furthermore, there is a necessity to include the signature of a senior officer for securitization or for the servicing function in Form 10-K, required on behalf of the depositor or the issuing entity respectively.  If multiple services are involved in servicing the pool assets, the senior officer in charge of the servicing function of the master servicer (or entity performing the equivalent function) must sign if a representative of the servicer is to sign the report on behalf of the issuing entity.   The materials are made available on the website of the Bank of New York Mellon for easy access via New York City Process Service and may also be availed of by personal written request. 

It is important to supply key information about the Trustee, being [A.] the name and address of the overarching authority who the Bank of New York Mellon would be subject to, [B.] the authority vested within the corporation to implement the powers related to corporate trust and [C.] the potential affiliations that the obligor may have with the Bank of New York. 

For the Bank of New York Mellon, there currently exists a triad of supervisory bodies. This would be the Superintendent of the Department of Financial Services, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and the New York Clearing House Association.  Process, in the context of New York City Process Service upon the Superintendent, consists of the papers used to commence a lawsuit. These documents would be a summons, notice of petition, order to show cause) pursuant to which a party receives formal notice to appear or respond in court. The process as per New York City Process Service does not include subpoenas, motions, or any other pleadings in a pending lawsuit that are not described 

COMPLIANCE EXHIBITS WITH THE EXCHANGE ACT FORM

Each of the forms for the Exchange Act has been created with the need for transparency and above-board functioning for the entity in question. With Form 10-K, it is usually required to ensure the incorporation of the exhibits as such, which would mean that any exhibit that has been submitted as a form of reference to the Commission for the form will have to be incorporated by reference.

The Bank of New York Mellon can thus incorporate any exhibit that they previously submitted to the SEC as a reference to any other report as well. However, New York City Process Service adherent servers must keep in mind that the number of copies that have been made of any exhibit should be specifically understood. If this number falls short of the total required copied, the application must be amended to include all the missing copies for appropriate filing. Further, if there has been any modification done to the text of any incorporated exhibit, it must be filed with a document that specifies the exact text of the modification as well as a date of modification. 

With the Bank of New York, the on record exhibits with the SEC would be the Organization Certificate in order to depict the authority of the Bank of New York Mellon to conduct business and actually exercise its powers of corporate trust, [B.] the by-laws and documents that the Bank would have governing its functioning, [C.] the latest report of the condition of the bank that has been published under the express consent of its supervising authority, and [D.] the consent of the Bank itself.

Risk is an intrinsic component of investment, and Bank of New York Mellon must properly handle both its own and its clients’ risk factors. Apart from the inherent unpredictability of investments, BNY Mellon poses additional obstacles. Due to the bank’s towering daily transaction rate, it is vulnerable to operating risk induced by a device or knowledge failure. Additionally, the organization must respond to persistent legislative and regulatory threats. However, with over a trillion dollars worth of assets under management, Bank of New York Mellon still remains one of the largest asset managers in the world.

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Sources

1. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 4. Summons (m) Time Limit for Service. If a defendant is not served within 90 days after the complaint is filed, the court—on motion or on its own after notice to the plaintiff—must dismiss the action without prejudice against that defendant or order that service is made within a specified time. But if the plaintiff shows good cause for the failure, the court must extend the time for service for an appropriate period. This subdivision (m) does not apply to service in a foreign country under Rule 4(f), 4(h)(2), or 4(j)(1), or to service of a notice under Rule 71.1(d)(3)(A).

2. Meilleur v. Strong, 682 F.3d 56, 63 (2d Cir. 2012) (holding that it is the plaintiff’s responsibility to request an extension of time for service)

3. Samaroo v. Bank of N.Y. Mellon, 21 Civ. 2441 (AT), (S.D.N.Y. Apr. 2, 2021)

4. The Trust Indenture Act of 1939, codified at 15 U.S.C. §§ 77aaa–77bbbb, supplements the Securities Act of 1933 in the case of the distribution of debt securities in the United States

5.The Securities Exchange Act of 1934 15 U.S.C. § 78a et seq is a law governing the secondary trading of securities in the United States of America. A landmark of wide-ranging legislation, the Act of ’34 and related statutes form the basis of regulation of the financial markets and their participants in the United States

6. Including those portions of BNY Mellon’s 2011 Annual Report to Shareholders (the ‘Annual Report’),

7. Secretary of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation, One Wall Street, New York, NY 10286.

8. Materials available;

1. BNY Mellon’s Directors’ Code of Conduct, which is applicable to the directors; 
2. BNY Mellon’s Corporate Governance Guidelines; 
3. BNY Mellon’s Code of Conduct, which is applicable to all employees, including BNY Mellon’s senior financial officers and
4. the Charters of the Audit, Corporate Governance and Nominating, Human Resources and Compensation, Risk and Corporate Social Responsibility Committees of the Board of Directors

9. Available at www.bnymellon.com under ‘Investor Relations, Corporate Governance’ and also available free of charge in print by written request from the Secretary of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation at One Wall Street, New York, NY 10286, or corpsecretary@bnymellon.com:

10. Superintendent of the Department of Financial Services of the State of New York

One State Street, New York, N.Y. 10004-1417and Albany, N.Y. 12203

11. Federal Reserve Bank of New York33 Liberty Plaza, New York, N.Y. 10045Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation550 17th Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20429

12. New York Clearing House Association New York, N.Y. 10005(b)

13. Service may be made by mailing or delivering the papers to the Department as follows:

• By mail: addressed to New York State Department of Financial Services, Corporate Affairs Unit, One Commerce Plaza – 20th Floor, Albany, New York 12257.
• In-person: at New York State Department of Financial Services, Office of General Counsel, One State Street, New York, NY 10004, or One Commerce Plaza, Albany, NY 12257.

14. Exchange Act Forms Corporation Finance: Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Forms and Associated Regulations), (last visited May 1, 2021)