BANK ENTERS INSURANCE WORLD

Manufacturers Bank announced that it had entered into a referral alliance with AXA Advisors LLC to provide bank customers with a full range of insurance and investment products through Shuster Financial Group LLC. Michael Aarons, senior vice president at Manufacturers Bank, stated that through AXA Advisors, Manufacturers Bank will now be able to offer its existing clients a full range of financial products, including a full-service brokerage, fee-based asset management and access to more than 100 different carriers. According to Mark Shuster, president of Shuster Financial Group, core customers of Shuster Financial Group are California middle market businesses, which could benefit from the group’s specialized services, such as employee benefits, executive compensation and business succession planning.