Bank brokerage saw an uptick of 10% in the second quarter, according to the BISA-Singer Bank Brokerage Index, a quarterly joint report from the Bank Insurance and Securities Association (BISA) and the Bank Insurance Market Research Group (BIMRG).
“It’s been pretty dismal for a few years now, so any jump is positive,” said Andrew Singer, managing director of BIMRG. The report, which first came out in the first quarter of 2007 and is based on data from 20 large banks, set the baseline at 100 then. The first quarter this year saw an index rating of 96, below the baseline. But the second quarter’s index rating rose to 106 at 15 of the 20 banks posted gains.
Banks’ product mix is now evenly split between annuities (54% of total brokerage revenue) and securities income (46% of the total), which Singer said is an encouraging sign for the industry. “We go through periods where annuities dominate—they have been as high as 65% of brokerage revenues,” Singer said. “But all things being equal, you want to see product diversification.”
