BB&T Insurance Reports 4Q Decline

NU Online News Service, Jan. 24, 12:33 p.m. EST

BB&T Insurance Services said its revenues dropped 4 percent in the 2010 fourth quarter compared to the same period for the previous year.

BB&T, the insurance subsidiary of Winston-Salem, N.C., bank BB&T Corp., reported insurance income of $249 million in the 2010 fourth quarter compared to $260 million for the same period ending 2009, down $11 million.

For the year, insurance income was down less than 1 percent, or $6 million, to $1.04 billion.

On a quarter over quarter basis, insurance revenue was down 1 percent, or $3 million, from $252 million to $249 million.

BB&T Corp. said the decline reflected “continued softness in the industry's pricing for premiums.”

The bank as a whole reported fourth-quarter net income of $217 million, or 30 cents a share, an increase of close to 12 percent, or $23 million.

On a year over year bases, net income dropped $23 million to $854 million, or close to 3 percent.

 In a statement, Kelly S. King, chairman and chief executive officer of BB&T Corp., said, “We are pleased to report record revenues for 2010, significant progress in our efforts to diversify the balance sheet and across-the-board improvement in credit trends in the fourth quarter. Revenues totaled $9.4 billion for 2010, an increase of 5.8 percent compared to last year.”