Mellon Ventures' quiet passing.

Byline: edited by John E. Morris

Four Septembers ago, Mellon Financial Corp. chairman and CEO Martin G. McGuinn touted the success of its Mellon Ventures unit, announcing that its private equity and venture capital arm had chalked up $1 billion in investments. Its success, McGuinn said at the time, paralleled "the clear direction" the bank was taking by investing in high-growth, high-return businesses.

Since then, while many banks and financial institutions were scaling back their private equity exposures because of the economic downturn, Mellon Ventures, under president and CEO Lawrence Mock Jr., has deployed a further $400 million.

Now its remarkable staying power appears to have run out. The unit has quietly ceased making new investments and is only supporting its existing portfolio companies. A Mellon Financial spokesman confirmed what the Pittsburgh Business Times first reported. No announcement was made and details were scant, but the …