Banks' Insurance Income Rising 9 Percent In ?03

By Steven Brostoff, Washington Editor

NU Online News Service, Dec. 3, 2:40 p.m. EDT, Washington?Insurance income earned by bank holding companies is expected to increase nine percent in 2003 and account for an increasing share of non-interest income, according to a new study by the American Bankers Insurance Association.[@@]

The study estimates that bank holding companies (excluding MetLife and Citigroup) will earn some $5.8 billion in 2003, compared to $5.3 billion in 2002.

Moreover, insurance income at the top 50 bank holding companies, again excluding MetLife and Citigroup, now accounts for 12.3 percent of non-interest income, compared with 10.1 percent in 2002.

The study, which was conducted by E. Kenneth Reynolds, managing director of the Washington-based ABIA, is based on data provided to the Federal Reserve in bank holding company consolidated financial statements.

Mr. Reynolds told National Underwriter that he decided to exclude MetLife and Citigroup from the study because they are special cases.

While MetLife is registered as a bank holding company, Mr. Reynolds said, it is primarily an insurance company. Similarly, he said, Citigroup does much of its insurance business through Travelers.

Moreover, he said, these two companies are so large compared to other bank holding companies in terms of insurance income that including them in the study would distort the results.

Mr. Reynolds noted that as of June 2003, MetLife's insurance income was $11.2 billion and Citigroup's was $1.7 billion.

The next-largest bank holding company in terms of insurance income, Wells Fargo, reported $556 million, he noted.

Excluding MetLife and Citigroup gives a better picture of what the other 1,257 bank holding companies that report insurance income are experiencing, Mr. Reynolds said

The study also does not include annuity income sold by securities brokerage units of bank holding companies. Including this figure, the study said, would significantly increase insurance income.

The study found that while insurance income is increasing, insurance fee and commission income for the first six months of 2003 declined slightly.

This indicates, the study said, that underwriting and reinsurance income is becoming a larger portion of bank holding company insurance income.

The number of bank holding companies reporting insurance income dropped slightly during the first six months of the year, going from 1,284 in 2002 to 1,257 in 2003.

The assets of all holding companies reporting insurance income total $8 trillion, the study found, which is 93 percent of the $8.7 trillion in assets held by bank holding companies as of the end of June of 2003.

The study did not identify insurance income by line.

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Banks' Insurance Income Rising 9 Percent In ?03

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