Flushing Bank selects Cetera, looks to increase share of wallet

Flushing Bank has selected Cetera Financial Institutions as the new third-party broker-dealer for its wealth management program

The New York bank has 19 branches and about 20 financial professionals that have a particular focus on millennial investors, Cetera said in a release. The program, established 20 years ago, today has about $225 million in assets under management.

Flushing Bank’s previous TPM was Infinex.

The bank plans to grow the wealth management program under Cetera, said John Buran, president and CEO of the bank, in the release. He noted that the broker-dealer offers advantages for the bank’s business in the fiduciary era, and cited Cetera’s technology tools as a particular attraction. Indeed, Cetera has launched a number of technology tools over the past year, such as its facial-recognition software program in June.

One way the bank will try to grow the program is by increasing share of wallet across the existing client base, said LeAnn Rummel, president of Cetera Financial Institutions, in the release.

This new addition to Cetera’s platform comes on the heels of Cathay Bank returning to the TPM. Last month, the Los Angeles-based bank brought its $507 million program back to broker- dealer after a six-month stint with LPL. Rummel predicted at the time that Cathay would be the first of a number of banks that will "return to the fold" after a brief period of working with other platforms.

So far this year, the firm has lost at least three significant programs to rivals. It lost both First Interstate Bank's $810 million program and Bell Bank's $780 million program to LPL, while Raymond James snatched the $600 million program of Prosperity Bank.