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As stock markets reacted to the coronavirus crisis in late February and March, community banks with investment management divisions felt the effects, with assets under management declining during the first quarter.

Cambridge Trust Co. was one of the local banks seeing this decline. The bank saw assets under management drop by about $355 million in the first quarter to $2.932, down from $3.287 at the end of 2019. Revenue from these assets fell to $6.6 million in the first quarter, down from $6.9 million in the fourth quarter.

Wellesley Bank, which is awaiting regulatory approval to be acquired by Cambridge Trust later in the second quarter, saw wealth management fees decrease by $69,000 to $365,000 in the first quarter. The bank’s wealth management division, Wellesley Investment Partners, had total assets under management of $332.9 million in the first quarter compared to $419.5 million at the end of 2019. Along with the decline in market values, Wellesley Bank also reduced its investment portfolio.

Lowell-based Enterprise Bank saw investment assets under management of $793.2 million in the first quarter compared to $916.6 million at the end of the fourth quarter, a 13 percent decrease. Enterprise did see increases in wealth management fees, from $1.417 million in the fourth quarter to $1.44 million in the first quarter.

Assets under management are not included in a bank’s total assets.

All three banks did have significant net income in the first quarter. Cambridge Trust, which has $2.9 billion in total assets, had net income of $7,232, or diluted earnings per share of $1.33. Wellesley Bank, which has $960.9 million in total assets, reported earnings of $1.5 million for the quarter ended March 31, or diluted earnings per share of $0.60. Enterprise Bank, with $3.37 billion in total assets, saw net income of $4 million, or $0.34 per diluted share.

First Quarter Stock Market Showed in Banks’ Wealth Management Performance

by Diane McLaughlin time to read: 1 min
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