Short Takes: Third-Party Marketer Adds 2 Bank Clients

Independent Financial Marketing Group has announced two new bank clients.

The Purchase, N.Y.-based company will provide securities, mutual funds, and fixed and variable annuities to customers of Sovereign Bank, a subsidiary of $23.4 billion-asset Sovereign Bancorp Inc. of Philadelphia, beginning Oct. 1. Sovereign previously used Essex Corp. of New York and Marketing One Inc. of Portland, Ore.

Barry R. Stiger, the president of the north central division of Sovereign Bank, said the reason for the change was Marketing One's decision to leave the third-party marketing business. Essex will continue to service 28 of Sovereign's branches in suburban Philadelphia until its contract runs out Dec. 1, he added.

Independent Financial also said that since late June it has been providing mutual funds and fixed and variable annuities to United Commercial Bank, a subsidiary of $2.2 billion asset UCBH Holdings Inc. of San Francisco.

For United Commercial, which has a largely Asian clientele, Independent Financial has rolled out a targeted marketing program, including hiring brokers who speak Mandarin Chinese, said Robert Spadafora, Independent Financial's president.

Independent Financial, a subsidiary of Boston-based Liberty Financial Cos., has 67 banking company clients and manages over $62.7 billion of assets. -- Amy L. Anderson

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