Brown Brothers Harriman ('BBH') is a privately held financial institution.
The founder of Brown Brothers Harriman, Alexander Brown, was a well-established linen merchant in Belfast prior to his move to the United States. His work involved travelling globally with his brother, Stewart, before permanently leaving Ireland following the Irish Rebellion of 1798. In Baltimore he established Alexander Brown & Co, a linen import business that quickly proved to be successful. The institution has been a private partnership ever since the admittance of Alexander Brown’s sons as partners in the 1800s and early 1810s. In 1806, the first branch outside Baltimore opened in Philadelphia. Just three years later, the company constructed its own ship to deal with transportation directly and soon after opened a branch in Liverpool. Although transatlantic trade was disrupted following the War of 1812, the Browns suffered relatively little in comparison to other merchants. This allowed them to continue financing Anglo-American trade when it later resumed. They were also heavily involved in the cotton trade, a period during which a branch was opened in New York.
Alexander Brown died in 1834, following which the company decided to transition the focus of the business to services such as letters of credit and foreign exchange. It managed to survive the financially catastrophic Panic of 1837, aided by loan guarantees from the Bank of England, and soon thereafter returned to profitability. It was decided that from then, focus would be placed solely on the New York and Liverpool branches in a bid to dominate the financing of trade between the two cities. James and William would be in control of the firm as they were responsible for those two branches. In 1857, the Brown brothers began managing investments for private clients. It was around this time that branches were opened in Boston and London and in 1882 the Brown brothers joined the New York Stock Exchange, having widened the scope of its operations in the United States, including the financing of railroads.
In 1919, W. A. Harriman & Co was founded, building a securities business. Both W. A. Harriman & Co and the Brown Brothers were involved in rebuilding Europe following World War One. The merger between the two institutions created one of the largest banks in the United States.
What was now known as Brown Brothers Harriman worked closely with the American Red Cross during World War Two, particularly in terms of managing the department responsible for the North Atlantic region.
The firm serves businesses, institutions, individuals and families in its three business lines: Investor Services, Investment Management, and Private Banking. BBH’s Investor Services business provides cross-border custody, accounting, administration, execution and technology services to many of the world’s leading asset managers and financial institutions.
BBH operates in eighteen locations. In Ireland it has two companies, Trustee Services (Ireland) Limited ('BBHTS') and Brown Brothers Harriman Fund Administration Services (Ireland) Limited ('BBHFAS'). Both companies are subsidiaries of Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. BBHTS provides trustee, depositary and global custody services. Solutions for foreign exchange, passive currency administration, securities lending and its Infomediary messaging and connectivity platform are provided via its parent company, BBH & Co. BBHFAS offers Fund Accounting, Administration and Transfer Agency services to Collective Investment Schemes.
Investment structures serviced include: local and other offshore funds, unregulated corporate structures, exchange traded funds, fund of funds, fund of hedge funds, hedge funds, master feeder funds, pooling, private institutional schemes, real estate investment funds, RQFII funds, single portfolios and umbrella structures.
Brown Brothers Harriman Trustee Services (Ireland) Limited and Brown Brothers Harriman Fund Administration Services (Ireland) Limited are regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.
