In another growth spurt, E*Trade Bank has received approval from regulators
to acquire more than 30,000 accounts with deposits currently valued at more
than $1.7 billion from Chase Manhattan Bank USA, National Association, a
subsidiary of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.
The E*Trade Group Inc. company , which claims to be the
largest branchless bank in the United States, said the transaction was
approved by the Office of Thrift Supervision.
E*Trade Bank said it is gaining high-balance, transaction-based accounts that
are
expected to continue to widen its interest rate spreads, generating greater
profitability. The bank intends to cross-sell its other high value financial
products and services in order to increase its revenue per household.
Financial specifics of the deal were not disclosed. The
purchase was first announced last October.
“The acquired accounts will enable us to deepen our customer relationships by
accelerating
the cross-sell of our robust suite of financial products and services,
resulting in enhanced profitability and value for our shareowners,” said
Mitchell Caplan, chief financial products officer and managing director,
North America for E*Trade.
The transaction will close in the first quarter of 2002. E*Trade entered the banking business in April 2000 as the result of the company’s
acquisition of Internet bank Telebank.
