Short Takes: N.C.'s First Commerce Picks 3d-Party Provider

First Commerce Bank of Charlotte, N.C., has chosen LPL Financial Services as its third-party provider of investment products.

First Commerce plans to sign the contract by the end of June, said Wesley W. Sturges, the president and chief executive of the $85 million- asset bank.

Initially there will be one broker selling mutual funds, stocks, and bonds. The broker, an independent contractor who also has clients outside the bank, will not sell annuities to First Commerce's bank customers, Mr. Sturges said.

Mr. Sturges said the arrangement "keeps our cost down and still allows us to get some additional fee income," he said.

LPL, a third-party marketing firm that has offices in Boston and San Diego, has 215 bank and credit union clients.

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