Lots of banks are looking for another cash cow right now, which always happens in the wake of a crash. After the dot-com bubble burst, top firms seized on various real estate-related loans and products to take profits even higher levels. But now that the commercial and residential mortgage booms have bust, what's next?

Investment News suggests that more regional banks are turning to wealth management (wealth management news). In the first quarter, the magazine notes, "most of the 50 banks in the KBW Regional Banking Index that offer wealth management services reported positive results from the business." 

Wealth management doesn't offer the outsized margins that one associates with the real estate boom. So this may be a healthy movement. But you've got to have a story to tell your investors, and diversifying your earnings stream in a fairly conservative way certainly doesn't hurt. This represents more competition for the wirehouses and independents alike. We'll likely see more medium-sized deals as more banks purchase wealth management firms. 

For more:
- here's the Investment News article

Related Articles:
Wirehouse brokerages vs. independents, war continues
More hedge fund managers to join family offices
Broker recruitment still hot and heavy?
Will Bob McCann run UBS wealth management?
How hot is wealth management?