Bank holding companies had $3.03B in income from insurance brokerage fees in first quarter

Bank holding companies raked in $3.03 billion in insurance brokerage fee income during the first quarter, down from $3.21 billion a year earlier, according to a report. However, the quarter's fee income levels rose 15% from $2.63 billion in the fourth quarter of 2008, according to data from The Michael White-Prudential Bank Insurance Fee Income Report, which was released today. The data were compiled by Michael White Associates LLC of Radnor, Pa., and sponsored by Newark, N.J-based Prudential Inc.'s individual life insurance business. The report was based on information from all 7,447 commercial and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.-supervised savings banks and 940 large top-tier bank holding companies. Bank holding companies earn insurance brokerage income from commissions and fees on sales and referrals of credit, life, health and property/casualty insurance. Bank holding companies with more than $10 billion in assets generated $2.82 billion in insurance fee income during the first quarter of this year, down 6.4% from a year earlier. At the top of the list, Wells Fargo & Co. of San Francisco generated the most insurance brokerage fee income, taking in $483 million, up 9.03% from a year earlier. Citigroup Inc. of New York was in second place, though its insurance brokerage fee income fell to $250 million, a 45.65% drop from a year earlier. In third place was Winston-Salem, N.C.-based bank BB&T Corp., which saw its insurance brokerage fee income rise 13.83% from a year earlier, to $226.8 million.