American banks made 10% fewer annuity sales during the first quarter of 2015.

Industry research group Bank Insurance and Securities Research Associates (BISRA) reports that banks in the United States sold fewer annuities during the first three months of the year compared to the same period last year, mostly because of a steep decline in fixed annuity sales.

While annuity sales levels remained steady when compared with the results reported during the fourth quarter, fixed annuity sales in US banks in Q1 were down 22% when measured against the same period last year. BISRA notes that sales of fixed annuities declined for the industry as a whole, with insurers also reporting a 10% drop during the first quarter. BISRA’s research suggests that sales of fixed annuities are especially susceptible to certain market conditions.

“The interest rate environment continues to be challenging, and fixed annuity production continues to be highly sensitive to such an environment,” comments Dr. Betty Moon, managing director at BISRA. “That said, the decline experienced over the past four consecutive quarters seems to have subsided in the first three months of 2015.”