Abstract: One out of every four banks sells annuities, by some estimates. Half the banks with more than $750 million in deposits, a third of the banks with $200 to $750 million deposits, and 15% of banks with less than $200 million in deposits sell the product, according to Princeton, N.J.-based consultant Kenneth Kehrer. He also predicts that banks' annuity sales will multiply from $9 billion in 1991 to $40 billion by the mid-1990s. Why have banks grown more interested in this insurance product? The business has been fueled by at least 140 third-party marketing organizations that bombard banks with success stories, says Kehrer. One reason banks give for selling annuities is that customers are already buying the product at brokerage houses and elsewhere. Another reason banks offer annuities is to obtain off-balance-sheet income. They can get rent from a third-party marketer selling annuities in their lobbies or sales commissions from insurance companies for whom bank employees are selling the product. A third reason is that, if all goes well, annuities can strengthen customer relationships, because customers often perceive the annuity to be part of the bank relationship, even though they realize it's an insurance product. Ideally, even if the customer has rolled money from a bank CD or other deposit into an annuity, the bank can later cross-sell CDs and other traditional products to that customer. For all their benefits, annuities are not sold at all banks, nor are they always a success where they are sold. Some of the reasons why are: (1) The market for annuities is limited-people over 50 years old with medium incomes and not enough money to have an investment advisor but enough to be able to lock about $25,000 into this product until retirement. (2) are tied to the fortunes of the insurance company that underwrites them. the insurer fails, the bank has a public relations problem. (3) Selling annuities raises the possibility of raiding the bank's deposit base. (4) Employees may not cotton to annuities, whether it's because they've been trained for many years to bring in deposits or because they don't like the third-party marketers suddenly camping out in their lobby. (5) In some cases banks are not allowed to sell annuities. These and other challenges are being dealt with at many banks. These are some of the solutions they have found. Find the right buyers. The first concern, the limited market, is really not a problem for the banks contacted for this article, because they are not aggressively selling annuities, but making them available as one of many alternatives. Customers who are dissatisfied with their CD rates are usually asked several questions to determine whether or not an annuity might be right for them. Liberty National Bank and Trust Co. goes a step further, and tries to find out why the customer wants an annuity. Annuities are not for everyone; they're not interest-rate driven, says Steve Barrett, senior vice-president and manager, LNB Life Insurance Co., a subsidiary of $4.3 billion-assets holding company Liberty National Bancorp, Louisville, Ky. If someone is buying an annuity for a higher interest rate, that's the wrong motive. The purpose is for lifetime income. you get in it for the interest rate and after a year or two you want to get out and put your money in another investment vehicle, you have surrender penalties and early withdrawal penalties. Barrett says the third-party marketing people that operate out of his lobby analyze customers. a customer should not be in an annuity, the marketer might refer the person to the trust department or suggest they get a CD. What's in it for the marketer to refer the person back to a banker? Nothing in a monetary sense, Barrett says. But they're professionals, and they know their job is to satisfy the customer. …
Publication Year: 1992
Publication Date: 1992-09-01
Language: en
Type: article
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