Bank of New York Mellon said its assets under management stood at $881 billion at 31 March 2009, down 20 per cent from £1.105 trillion in the first quarter of the previous year. Meanwhile, first quarter asset and wealth management fees declined 28 per cent year-on-year.

Net asset outflows were $12 billion in the first quarter, primarily due to outflows in treasury/government money market funds reflecting the historically low level of interest rates, BNY Mellon said in a statement.

Assets under custody and administration amounted to $19.5 trillion in the first quarter of 2009, a decrease of 16 per cent compared to the same period of 2008.

Asset and wealth management fees totaled $609 million for the first quarter of 2009, having been $657 million the previous quarter, and £842 million at 31 March 2008. Declines in fees reflected the global weakness in market values and a stronger US dollar, the bank said. Performance fees were $7 million for the first three months of this year, falling from $44 million in the prior quarter.

BNY Mellon reported that its Wealth Management division achieved total revenues of $191 million for the first quarter of 2009, compared to $212 million for the same period of 2008. The division’s pre-tax income was $52 million for the first three months of this year, having been $57 million for the first quarter of last year.

As a whole, the bank reported its Q1 2009 total revenue was $2.930 billion, comprised of $2.138 billion of fee and other revenue and $792 million of net interest revenue; this included a pre-tax charge for the write-down of certain investments ($347 million) in fee and other revenue.

BNY Mellon’s Tier 1 capital ratio was 13.8 per cent at 31 March 2009, rising from 13.3 per cent at the end of 2008.