Banks increased their 2005 insurance brokerage fee income by 8.4percent to a record $3.93 billion, a study by a bank insuranceconsulting firm has found.

A total of 47.7 percent of the banks in the U.S. engaged inactivities that produced brokerage fee income according to The 2006Bank Insurance & Investment Fee Income Report published byMichael White Associates

New York-based Citibank, N.A., Charlotte, N.C.-based BranchBanking and Trust Company and Wilmington, Del.-based MBNA AmericaBank topped the list of top insurance fee producing banks.

According to the report, banks with over $10 billion in assetshad the highest participation at 76.4 percent in insurancebrokerage activities, which produced $3.1 billion in insurance feeincome in 2005.

This set accounted for 79 percent of all bank insurancebrokerage fee income in 2005, a 450 basis point increase from their2004 bank-market share.

Banks with under $100 million in assets achieved relativeperformances that frequently surpassed those of most bankasset-classes, being first in median and mean insurance as apercent of both noninterest income and noninterest fee income.

Every one of the five bank-asset classes under $10 billion inassets produced more insurance brokerage fee income than mutualfund and annuity fee income, the report said.

Banks under $10 billion in assets recorded $820.5 million or20.9 percent of all bank insurance brokerage fee income and,collectively, earned 53 percent or $284.3 million more in insurancebrokerage fee income than mutual fund and annuity fee income($536.2 million).

The survey includes all insurance operations within banks, andagencies owned by banks. But it does not include those agenciesowned by bank holding companies, according to Mr. White.