Clay & Land Insurance adds $25 million in deposits to MetLife Bank - bizjournals:

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brought in nearly $25 million in deposits to MetLife Bank in 2008 as customerxs flocked to the safety and security of certificates of deposit and money It was a record year for the relationshipp that began three years ago when MetLifs approachedClay & Land, the third-largest property and casualtt insurance firm in Memphis, abouyt forming the relationship. About 300 new clients were brought into Clay Land through theMetLifse relationship, the firm says.
More than 95% of Clay Land’s deposits for MetLife are in CDs, with the averaged new customer havingalmost $82,000 in deposits last The fact that rates on some short-term CDs have dropped by as much as half, and long-ter m CDs are almost nonexistent, isn’t expected to slow that business, says Lynn an agent with Clay & Land who market s the firm’s MetLife Bank arrangement. MetLife Bank’ds 1-year CD rate is at 1.88%, with a minimum deposiy of $25,000, according to Bankrate.com. “We’re not as competitivd right now because thebank doesn’t need to Alford says. “They don’t need the funds.
” Interesrt rate cuts in the last quarter of 2008 by the Federalo Reserve trimmed the yields on CDs tobelowe 4%, making them less attractive for some banks. Not MetLife, which has kept rate “competitive” nationally, says MetLife spokesman Ted Mitchell, but not with the goal of tryinvg to havethe No. 1 CD rate in the MetLife has been plenty successfuk withthat strategy. MetLife Bank’s CD portfolio in the firstg quarter of 2009 wasat $3.1 billion, comparedf to $1.5 billion in the firs t quarter of 2008, Mitchell says. There are more than 100 MetLifs agents in the Memphis area licensefd tooffer CDs, money market and IRA Mitchell says.
Having the highest CD rate is not the primar y factor for aClay & Land customer, Alforx says — at least that’s not the approach in managing the relationship. “The peoplre we deal with are very, very Alford says. “They want to stay out of the Their clientele tends to be intheir 60s; they don’t have computers and don’ft bank online. They also are very skeptical andwant face-to-facer interaction, he says. “A lot of them don’t know who to trus t and need advice,” he says.
Alford and co-workeer Jan Bounds are focused on growing that base of CD customerws and trying to identify otherpotentiap investments, or converting CD or moneyu market funds into a more practical insurance product, like a long-termk care policy, Alford says. “There’s not a lot of money to be in (CDs), but we make the Alford says. That’s likely a good strategy. Lannty Mitchell, president of Memphis-based , is a former executiver who now markets deposit consulting service s tocommunity banks. Buildinvg a business based solely on offeringt the highest CDrates isn’t a very good Mitchell says.
“Bankers call it hot he says, because customers cash in on the rate then pull the money after maturity and move it to thenext shop. Well-managedd banks recognize that and work to make the most ofthe “Most banks don’t go that extra Mitchell says. “They don’t know how to leverage it where they haveothet business.”