Insurance brokerage fees held their own despite the pressuresfrom a soft market and changes in reporting by some banks, said abank insurance consultant.

The "Michael White--Symetra Bank Fee Income Report" shows banks'insurance brokerage fee income reached a total of $4.04 billion,just 0.8 percent less than a record $4.08 billion banks made in2006.

The report, compiled by the consulting firm Michael WhiteAssociates based in Radnor, Pa., is based on data reported by 7,707commercial and FDIC-regulated savings banks.

Close to half of the reporting banks (46 percent) reported thatpart of their income was produced through insurance brokeragerevenue. The fee income consists of commissions and fees earnedfrom sales and referrals of credit, life, health, property-casualtyand title insurance. The numbers do not include income derived fromthe sale of annuities.

Michael White, president of Michael White Associates, toldNational Underwriter that seven of the top 10 banks in theinsurance brokerage fee income list earned a significant portion oftheir insurance fees through p-c insurance transactions.

Leading the banks whose insurance sales are dominated by p-cinsurance transactions is Branch Banking and Trust Co. (BB&T),which increased its fee income by close to 5 percent, rising $37.5million to $837 million. Insurance brokerage accounted for 34percent of the bank's noninterest income.

BB&T was number two on the list after Citibank, NA, withinsurance sales primarily on the life side, which produced $1.2billion in insurance fee income.

The report notes that BB&T is the most active acquirer ofinsurance agencies among banks that own their brokerage firms, asopposed to those that operate insurance brokerage firms as separateentities. For example, Wells Fargo Bank operates Wells FargoInsurance brokerage as a separate unit.

Seventy percent of banks with over $10 billion in assetscontinue to have the highest participation, producing $3.2 billionin insurance fee income, and accounted for 79 percent of all bankinsurance brokerage fee income earned in 2007, the report said.

The next largest bank with a significant p-c fee income isCommerce Bank/North coming in at number five with $85 million.However, that will change because Commerce Bank was purchased by TDBanknorth, N.A., which came in ninth on the list at $56million.

TD is big in insurance in New England and Canada, said Mr.White, but will not benefit on the insurance end because Commercesold the commercial insurance brokerage to George E. Norcross III,the brokerage's chairman, and Michael Tiagwad, Commerce InsuranceServices president, back in January.

Commerce retained ownership of its personal lines business.

Mr. White also noted that the fees for 2007 would have equaled2006 if it had not been for some banks switching their charter toOTS-regulated thrifts that do not report insurance brokerageincome.