Salomon Smith Barney contracted to open one of its own brokerage branches in a community bank last week, a move that appears to be the first of its kind by a Wall Street firm. It hopes to bring its expertise to smaller institutions nationwide.

The new so-called investment center is to be placed in a downtown Lewiston, Idaho-based branch of FirstBank, and could prove a major advantage to FirstBank and any other community institutions as they vie with larger competitors to offer a wide array of investment products.

Although hundreds of smaller institutions currently work with brokerage houses to bolster their investment offerings, Salomon is equipped to provide a unique level of service to its clients, according to the company. Further, the program is the first to bring the prestige and know-how of a major Wall Street firm into local community bank branches, said Jeffrey H. Champlin, a Salomon vice president.

"What it does is airlift community banks to the front of the brokerage business," Champlin said. "Now they can have a more sophisticated brokerage firm than many of the biggest commercial banks. Customers are requiring a lot more from their brokers than they used to and the average community bank program cannot do this anymore."

He said the program will help banks broaden and deepen their relationships with customers, so they do not look to invest with larger banks, and possibly transfer some of their traditional banking business there as well. Salomon hopes to establish several hundred additional centers in the next two to three years, Champlin said.

He continued that Salomon can offer banks better services because of the approximately 450 branch locations the firm has around the country. "In many cases, when banks work with brokerages, the firms can be located hundreds of miles away. But with us, the investment centers keep in direct contact with any of Salomon’s branches, which might be located right down the street."

He added that some brokerages leave much of the maintenance of such centers up to the bank. Salomon, however, provides them with all the necessary equipment and easy access to all of the latest research tools and facilities available to any of its representatives.

Clyde E. Coklin, president of FirstBank, said he welcomed the opportunity to offer securities, mutual funds and other non-insured products through a "well-respected company like Salomon. (Salomon) brings national recognition, has a large portfolio of investment products, and maintains a business approach respecting customers’ needs," he said.

Salomon began piloting the program in several community banks over a year ago. But Champlin said the firm is now prepared to roll out the service across the country. He said the firm is beginning to educate its regional representatives about the program and meet with bank managers to discuss a possible strategy. "We don’t want to helter skelter put this thing together," Champlin said.

Champlin said some banks have been wary of the service, fearing the firm may intrude on some of their existing business. "But what we do is sign an agreement with the bank not to sell any products they want to keep selling."

Salomon will also be selective when choosing banking partners, he said. "We want them to be strategic for us. We look for banks with a good reputation and ones that won’t be snapped up by a larger bank. We want banks that want to be in the community banking business for the long haul."

The investment representatives are jointly hired and managed by Salomon and the bank. The fee income is also split by both entities. Besides working with bank customers, the representatives will help the bank generate business in the local area.

The compliance issues arising from the program are similar to any instance in which banks offer brokerage services, Champlin said. "The physical space between the brokerage and the rest of the bank must be clearly defined. And we have a disclosure document for the customer explaining that the products are not FDIC insured, are not products of the bank and that you can lose all or part of the principle."