Optional charter seen saving agents money

Life insurance agents could save up to $377 million annually in licensing fees if Congress were to adopt…

Life insurance agents could save up to $377 million annually in licensing fees if Congress were to adopt an optional charter allowing agents to choose federal regulation over state regulation, according to a study being released today by the American Council of Life Insurers in Washington and the National Association of Independent Life Brokerage Agencies in Fairfax, Va.
Social Security could hit red in 2017
Official estimates of the pending insolvency of the Social Security trust fund may be too rosy, Charles Blahous, special assistant to the president for economic policy, said Friday.
He told the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research in Washington that Social Security costs may start to exceed tax revenue by 2017.
Grohowski defects to BONY Mellon
Bank of America Corp.’s U.S.Trust private-wealth-management division suffered another blow last week with the departure of its chief investment officer, Leo Grohowski, who has assumed that role at The Bank of New York Mellon Corp.
Just last month, Charlotte, N.C.-based Bank of America talked him up as a key member of its executive team following the acquisition of U.S. Trust from The Charles Schwab Corp. in San Francisco for $3.3 billion.
China raises reserve ratio by 0.5%
China Friday directed banks to raise their reserve requirement ratio by 0.5% as of Sept. 25, requiring lenders to ship off 12.5% of their deposits to the central bank.
Correction
TIAA-CREF of New York is expanding its relationship with Chicago-based Ibbotson Associates Inc. to include investment advice for all participant assets, not just retirement assets.
The advice will be provided by Ibbotson, not TIAA-CREF, as incorrectly reported in a story on Page 37 of this issue, which went to press before the corrections could be made.