First-quarter fee income for bank-owned insurance brokeragefirms slipped more than 5 percent largely due to the income drop attwo major brokerage firms, Wells Fargo and Citigroup.

In the latest Michael White Bank Insurance Fee Income Report,bank holding companies recorded $1.72 billion in insurancebrokerage fees in Q1 of this year, down $90 million from the sameperiod in 2012.

During the period, revenues at Wells Fargo & Co., a P&Cbroker, dropped 10 percent to $407 million and Citigroup Inc., alife broker, fell 61 percent to $197 million. Wells Fargo andCitigroup are ranked No. 1 and No. 3, respectively, on the list oftop 12 bank-owned brokers.

Wells Fargo has attributed the drop in insurance income to lower commodity prices in its cropinsurance company and discontinuation of lender-placed insurancecommissions.

No. 2 on the list, BB&T Corp.—a mix of P&C and lifeinsurance business—saw its fees increase 37 percent to $335million. In fourth place is Bank of America Corp., which went froma $67 million loss in Q1 2012 to $138 million.

Michael White, the bank consulting firm's president, says bankholding companies made real progress in insurance revenues in thefirst quarter. Of 256 banks that are on track to earn $250,000 inannualized insurance brokerage income, 168 showed positive growth,up 16 percent from 2012.

The number of banks with double-digit increases in insurancebrokerage fees over the prior year rose from 94 in 2012 to 116 sofar this year. The results, he adds, point to continued, meaningfulgrowth in insurance fee revenues for the banks.