By Becky Yerak | Northbrook-based Allstate Corp. is pulling its account from Insurance Auto Auctions Inc.of Westchester.

Last week, rival Copart Inc., a publicly traded online vehicle auction
business based in Fairfield, Calif., announced that it has been named
Allstate’s exclusive national provider of vehicle sales and auction
services.

Allstate uses an auction house after it pays a claim on, say, a stolen car, and then later recovers the vehicle.

“Copart’s proven method of auctioning vehicles provides us with the best opportunity to maximize our salvage results,” Bill Daly, Allstate assistant vice president of auto claims, said in a statement.

Allstate wanted to consolidate its auction services with one company, a spokeswoman explained of moving all of its work to Copart.

Insurance Auto is owned by KAR Auction Services Inc., a publicly traded company based in Carmel, Ind.

“While we’re disappointed with Allstate’s decision, we’ll work closely to assist them with the transition and look forward to doing business with them again in the future,” Insurance Auto Chief Executive Tom O’Brien said in a statement.

Insurance Auto has had several “significant customer wins” that should offset the loss of Allstate, he said.

“On balance, we do not anticipate this having a material impact on KAR’s financial performance,” O’Brien said.

Give and take: Rosemont-based Cole Taylor Bank, part of $4.4 billion-asset Taylor Capital Group Inc., is selling its corporate trust business  to $768 million-asset Amalgamated Bank of Chicago. Terms weren’t disclosed.

Trust services include managing bond payments, acting as a trustee after a sale of new bonds, and acting as a custodian for retirement plans and other corporate accounts.

New kid in town: FirstMerit Corp. of Akron last weekend completed its previously announced conversion of 24 First Bank branches in the Chicago area to FirstMerit. Last Friday it also bought the failed George Washington Savings Bank of Orland Park in a deal brokered by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp..

The George Washington deal boosts its Chicago-area market share to No. 28 from No. 33, according to a report from Keefe Bruyette & Woods, an investment banking firm serving the financial services industry.

“Although we believe this is a nice deal for FirstMerit, we remain cautious on its out-of-market strategy,” said KBW, which has a “market perform,” or hold, rating on FirstMerit stock. “We believe that FirstMerit will continue to pursue FDIC-assisted opportunities in the Chicagoland market.”

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byerak@tribune.com