BW Insurance Agency Inc., a Fargo, N.D., subsidiary of San Francisco's Bank of the West, says it will seek agency deals in six states - Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho, New Mexico, and Nevada - where it now has no offices but could help fill out its parent's footprint.
"There are tremendous opportunities with over 400 branches up and down the West Coast," said Tom Anderson, the insurance unit's president.
Bank of the West last week changed the name of the insurance subsidiary it acquired in last November's Community First Bankshares deal to BW Insurance Agency, and Mr. Anderson noted that the new name prepares the way for a fuller meshing of the insurance agency with the parent's branch operation.
"Community First has a history of growing through acquisition, and we are keeping with the same game plan," said Mr. Anderson, a former Community First executive who is based in Fargo. The North Dakota banking company had completed 42 agency deals since 1992, he added, including five in 2003 and four last year.
"Our model is to find agencies where we have branching locations and a heavy weight on the property and casualty side," he said, "and a key part is the people" at the agencies.
Regarding deals, Mr. Anderson said, "there's nothing on the table now that I can speak about."
An aggressive agency dealmaking strategy would harmonize with the plan outlined last fall by Don J. McGrath, the president of BancWest Corp. and chief executive officer of Bank of the West, who said BancWest would seek more bank acquisitions. He mentioned Colorado and the Northwest as regions where he would like to do bank deals.
BW Insurance operates 59 offices predominantly in Bank of the West branches in eight western and midwestern states - Colorado, the Dakotas, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Utah, and Wyoming - selling property and casualty insurance to individuals and businesses. Its business is 65% commercial and 35% personal lines.
Insurance generated $17 million of revenue last year for Bank of the West, which had no insurance operation before the merger, Mr. Anderson said, and he hopes the number will rise substantially with agency purchases. He declined, however, to project revenue goals or a timetable for deals.
"We are looking for growth and see opportunities in our markets and in Bank of the West's footprint," he said.
The $40 billion-asset Bank of the West views insurance as a tremendous opportunity to earn fee income and create cross-selling opportunities, he said. "Insurance is a great complement to the bank, and fee income is a big part of it," he said. "Also, it's not subject to the market's ups and downs - the insurance world works differently."
Asked whether the insurance expansion would pave the way for the bank's expansion, Mr. Anderson said, "Bank of the West has commented publicly that they are interested in additional commercial bank deals, and they will continue to look at that."
Mr. McGrath, the Bank of the West CEO, said in November that he hopes to bring insurance back to the West Coast, where his bank would try to cross-sell insurance products. He said he viewed the Community First purchase as a major opportunity to extend the Bank of the West brand in the West. The deal added 10 states to Bank of the West's network.
Though mentioning Colorado and the Northwest as attractive dealmaking territories, he emphasized that the company would consider whatever opportunities arise.
Mr. Anderson said the agency's name change is intended to capitalize on Bank of the West's brand on the West Coast.
