In Brief: Net.Bank Turns Its First Quarterly Profit

Net.Bank Inc., the holding company of Atlanta Internet Bank, earned $240,000 before taxes, or 4 cents a share for the second quarter.

It was the on-line bank's first quarterly profit. A year earlier it lost $1.4 million, or $1.11 a share.

"Net.Bank is the only Internet bank to achieve profitability," D.R. Grimes, chief executive officer, said at the company's July board meeting. "This financial milestone is significant not only for banking, but also for electronic commerce in general."

For the first six months of 1998, pretax profits were $88,000, or 1 cent a share, compared with a loss of $3.2 million, or $2.55.

The $247 million-asset Atlanta company, which went public in July 1997, increased deposits 45% in the second quarter. It also expanded into brokerage and mortgages, closing 100 home loans in June.

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