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

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

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

According to the report, banks with over $10 billion in assets had the highest participation at 76.4 percent in insurance brokerage activities, which produced $3.1 billion in insurance fee income in 2005.

This set accounted for 79 percent of all bank insurance brokerage fee income in 2005, a 450 basis point increase from their 2004 bank-market share.

Banks with under $100 million in assets achieved relative performances that frequently surpassed those of most bank asset-classes, being first in median and mean insurance as a percent of both noninterest income and noninterest fee income.

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

Banks under $10 billion in assets recorded $820.5 million or 20.9 percent of all bank insurance brokerage fee income and, collectively, earned 53 percent or $284.3 million more in insurance brokerage fee income than mutual fund and annuity fee income ($536.2 million).

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

Special Reports /

'05 Bank Insurance Brokerage Income Sets Record

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