Just a week after picking up insurance brokerages in the State of Washington, Wells Fargo (WFC) is at it again, now in North Carolina.
–Wells Fargo announced today that it has acquired the assets of Greensboro, North Carolina’s Professional Benefits Associates, LLC. Wells Fargo already has 33 mortgage stores and 14 consumer finance stores in North Carolina.
Professional Benefits Associates provides individual, fully insured and self insured group benefit products for businesses and individual customers. Principals Keith Greene and Randy Southard and their team will transition into the Wells Fargo Insurance Services office in Burlington, N.C. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
“We’re excited to offer expanded resources, services and support to Professional Benefits Associates’ customers,” said Stephen Smith, head of Wells Fargo Insurance Services of North Carolina. “Their firm is well known and highly respected in the local business community and they’ll be a tremendous addition to our growing operations here in North Carolina and across the region.”
“We’re delighted to join such a well respected organization that lets us broaden and strengthen the products, services and solutions we deliver to our customers,” said Keith Greene of Professional Benefits Associates. “Our customers will receive the same great service from the same committed professionals, and they’ll have access to a wider range of resources and services to help them succeed financially.”
“We’ve grown to become one of America’s largest insurance brokerage companies by combining our national resources with great local agencies like Professional Benefits Associates, LLC,” said Dave Zuercher, president, chairman and CEO of Wells Fargo Insurance Services. “We’ll continue to look for agency acquisitions that advance and strengthen our vision, values and geographic interests across the country.”
Wells Fargo Insurance Services, Inc. is the fifth-largest insurance brokerage and the largest bank-owned insurance brokerage in the United States, with 171 offices in 37 states. Its 7,200 insurance professionals place $11.5 billion of risk premiums with expertise in property, casualty, benefits, international, personal lines and life products.
This is the perfect set-up for the longer term. Virtually every other bank (Citi (C), Wachovia (WB), Bank of America (BAC)) is paralyzed at the moment with the possible exception of JP Morgan (JPM). Iy is allowing Wells Fargo to begin to gobble up these smaller operations with no other bidders in the picture, providing very attractive pricing.
Disclosure (“none” means no position):Long WFC, none
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