Planners Seen Mediating Between Trust, Brokerage

SAN DIEGO - Banks beefing up their brokerage operations should take care not to let their trust business suffer, and they can better ensure that both lines of business succeed with the aid of financial planners as middlemen, according to a third-party brokerage firm.

Sean P. Casey, senior vice president of Invest Financial Corp. in Tampa, a third-party brokerage firm for banks, spoke at a trust and investment conference sponsored by the California Bankers Association here last week. He outlined how banks could use financial planners to help direct customers to the most appropriate bank unit.