Bank Broker-Dealers Report Drab 4th Quarter Sales

By Trevor Thomas

March 19, 2003 at 07:00 PM

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NU Online News Service, March 19, 2003, 3:33 p.m. EST – Bank broker-dealers reported soft sales for the fourth quarter of 2002, according to the Bank Insurance and Securities Association, Wayne, Pa.

Bank investment representatives who have passed the Series 7 exam grossed an average of $23,740 per month during the quarter, down 5% from the average for the fourth quarter of 2001, BISA says.

Licensed bankers averaged $1,867 in monthly gross commissions during the latest quarter, down 27% from the average for the comparable quarter in 2001.

The bank broker-dealers had a particularly difficult time moving annuities, and that affected the share of revenue coming from sales of various types of investments.

The bank broker-dealers got about 20% of their investment sales revenue from sales of stocks and third-party mutual funds, up from 19% in the fourth quarter of 2001.

But the percentage of revenue coming from the sale of variable annuities fell to 17%, from 29%, and the percentage of revenue coming from the sale of fixed annuities fell to 47%, from 58%.

"The portion of total bank retail securities revenue coming from fixed annuities has now declined in two consecutive quarters, after increasing in 11 of the previous 15 quarters," BISA says.

As recently as the second quarter of 1999, fixed annuities accounted for only 18% of bank broker-dealers' revenue, BISA says.

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