On-line market leader mbank may soon be looking for new investor

The number of virtual bank accounts will exceed 1 million in a few weeks time, as the popularity of these services has surpassed all expectations. Market leader mBank has almost 250,000 on-line accounts and expects the number to reach half a million by the end of the year. The second biggest Internet bank, Inteligo, had 150,000 accounts as of last week. The growth is powered by the very attractive interest rates offered by virtual banks, reaching as high as 9%, several times those of current accounts in conventional banks. Meanwhile, BRE Bank, sole owner of mBank, is said to be looking to sell a minority stake in the internet venture to an investor from the insurance sector. Hestia and Generali are listed as the likely candidates. (Puls Biznesu, p. 8; Prawo i Gospodarka, p. 1) T.J.