Texas Bank Leads In Investment Ratio: BIMRG

By Staff Writer

March 09, 2005 at 07:00 PM

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NU Online News Service, March 9, 2005, 12:25 p.m. EST

Among large thrifts in the U.S., Guaranty Bank, Dallas, showed the highest investment income in 2004 as a percent of bank deposits, a new report says.[@@]

Guaranty had 2004 investment income of $23.6 million on a deposit base of around $9 billion, for a ratio of 0.26%, according to a study of data from the Office of Thrift Supervision by the Bank Insurance Market Research Group, Mamaroneck, N.Y. That was the highest among thrifts with more than $200 million in deposits.

The study defined investment income as revenue from the sale and servicing of mutual funds and annuities.

Guaranty Bank, a state affiliate of Guaranty Federal Bank, FSB, has long been unusual in that it has sold investments exclusively through the bank platform rather than through dedicated Series 7 brokers, according to Andrew Singer, managing director of BIMRG. That is the way it has sold investment products for the last 15 years, Guaranty vice president Lorin McMurray told BIMRG, "and we have no plans to deviate from that."

The firm has 365 bankers selling investments, most of whom have Series 6 and Series 63 securities licenses as well as insurance licenses and work on a salary as well as a commission for investment sales. They are supported by about a dozen Series 7 licensed investment sales managers, who are responsible for training, sales management, motivation and compliance.

In 2004, Guaranty had $510 million in investment sales, up from $492 million in 2003. Investment sales amounted to almost 6% of the bank deposits, McMurray says.

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