Despite increased focus on internal synergies within banks, domestic deposits at U.S. banks have significantly outpaced the growth of wealth management assets within those same firms. According to The Cerulli Report—U.S. Private Banks & Trust Companies 2024, deposits have grown nearly 110% ($3.2 trillion total, or 8% annualized) since 2013, while wealth management assets have grown just $739 billion (81% total, or 6% annually).

Not only has deposit growth outpaced the growth of wealth management assets at banks, so too has the percentage of clients who use traditional banking services while not using any of the firm’s wealth management services. In 2017, just 30% of bank clients used only traditional banking services, with the remaining 70% using some combination of wealth management and traditional banking services. In 2024, the number of clients using just banking services has increased to 56%.

“Initiatives to increase deposits have paid off—banks have been highly successful at growing these programs. However, they have yet to fully capitalize on the increased flows of deposit dollars by transitioning them to their wealth management practices,” says Matt Zampariolo, research analyst. “Amidst the substantial wealth creation in the United States, and increased appetite for recurring non-interest-rate revenue, banks must show willingness to support their wealth management units, not as a secondary business but as a core offering and value-add service to their clients.”

As banks aim to increase focus on wealth management as a piece of their core offering, leveraging bank-specific advantages such as comprehensive services and internal referrals will play a key role in expanding marketshare. Internal referrals are a core competitive advantage of operating as an advisor within the channel and banks should implement best practices to incentivize this activity.

According to the research, 82% of bank executives state that a one-time flat-cash bonus is the most successful structure for incentivizing bankers to refer depository clients to advisors within the wealth management business. Non-monetary incentives, such as banker recognition programs (27%), are also frequently used to encourage bankers to increase the flow of referrals to wealth managers.

“Banks have an irreplicable opportunity to be the first and final stop on an investor’s financial journey,” says Zampariolo. “Cerulli recommends banks shift their focus internally and increase synergies between bankers and advisors in order to capture and maintain wealth management assets in the long run,” he concludes.