If you sit down and chat with Sheldon T. Anderson, it soon becomes evident that he is a careful listener -- a handy trait for a private banker catering to the wealthy.

These days his clients need nurturing more than ever, says the 58-year-old Miami native, who recently was promoted to chief executive for the southeast region of Northern Trust. The big Chicago-based financial institution operates the second-largest Florida bank with assets in excess of $12 billion.

Affluent families, he says, are focused on hanging on to their wealth in the wake of the dramatic upheaval in the markets. Foundations and endowments are brainstorming on how to redeploy their assets to increase cash flow to meet their operating needs. A year ago, in the heat of the meltdown, Northern Trust was hosting frequent -- sometimes daily -- conference calls with clients nationwide to hold their hands and counsel them.

``It was a very, very uncertain time,'' says Anderson, who was then president of Northern Trust for Miami-Dade County with responsibility for all banking, trust and investment activities. ``People wanted the assurance that people managing their wealth were not only on top of things but were in constant contact with them.''

In September, Anderson was named to succeed William L. Morrison as head of the southeast region, when Morrison became chief financial officer of the corporation. In a recent interview, Anderson offered some thoughts on Miami and private banking.

Q: Why are so many banks and financial institutions vying to get into the wealth management business these days?

A: It's a very attractive business, because you're dealing with affluent families, affluent entrepreneurs. You're dealing with very successful foundations and endowments, and with that comes the ability to really form great long-lasting relationships. We've worked with generation after generation. With that type of deep relationship comes the opportunity to have a very predictable revenue source.

Because of the type of work we do, we get to forge very, very deep relationships. Those relationships flow over to banking needs, investment needs, estate planning and planning for the futures of children and grandchildren and great grandchildren. So we have the ability to become very, very intimate with our clients.

Many, many banks flow in and out of this business, but for Northern Trust, it's what we do and on the personal side of our business, it's all we do.

Q: How has the financial crisis affected your customer base?

A: This was a very significant event, and people were very concerned about preserving the wealth they had. It was no longer return [on investment.] It was preservation of capital. And when that occurs, there's a flight to safety, and our business has certainly flourished because of that. And we see it in our deposit business, we see it in our loan growth, and we see it in our investment management business. Through Sept. 30, our deposits are up probably 38 percent from last year for this region -- Florida [and] Georgia.

Q: What is your perspective on Miami's economic outlook?

A: I'm the eternal optimist -- and I do know this market very well -- and I think Miami probably began to suffer first and I think when the economy starts to turn we'll probably recover more quickly and I mean that on the residential real-estate side. I continue to be concerned about unemployment. But I'm more optimistic that we'll begin to see some real progress and turnaround sooner than later.

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