NU Online News Service, Aug. 15, 4:46 p.m. – Bank variable annuity sales increased to $1.2 billion in June, up 6% from May and up 34% from June 2001, according to a survey by Kenneth Kehrer Associates, Princeton, N.J.
The June survey, which was sponsored by Jackson National Life Insurance Company, Lansing, Mich., showed that recent signs of a rebound in the variable annuity market were more than a fluke.
"All bank VA sales were up for the second consecutive month and the third time in the past four months," says Brad Powell, president of Jackson National's institutional marketing group.
But bank sales of fixed annuities fell to $3.3 billion, down 8% from the record level reported in May. Because fixed products account for 73% of all bank annuity sales, total bank annuity sales were off by 4.7% from May, falling to $4.5 billion, from $4.8 billion.
Banks took in $2.77 from sales of fixed annuities in June for every dollar they generated from selling variable annuities, but the ratio was down from 3.19-to-1 in May.
