Banks Reporting Record Income from Annuities (American Banker)

Through the first three quarters of 2011, bank holding companies racked up a record $2.26 billion in commissions from the sale of annuities, according to a report released Wednesday, a nearly 23% increase from the same period in 2010. Though annuity commissions in the third quarter of $731.5 million were down slightly from the record-setting second quarter, they were still up nearly 18% year over year. The bulk of the commissions were generated by the largest bank holding companies, with the clear market winner being Wells Fargo & Co., which reported annuity income of $617 million through the first nine months of 2011, a 19% rise from the same period in 2010.