Unionbancal Corp.'s brokerage unit last week began offering Internet trading to investors.
Customers of UBOC Investment Services can go on-line to buy stocks, bonds, and mutual funds, said a spokeswoman for the San Francisco banking company, which is mostly owned by Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi.
UBOC charges $25 for Internet trades involving up to 1,250 shares, a rate competitive with those of several bank brokerage and mainstream broker-dealers that offer on-line trading.
Account holders can make trades and check their balances 24 hours a day at www.investathome.com, the spokeswoman said.
UBOC also charges $25 for touch-tone trading. Fees for transactions conducted by brokers are calculated on a sliding scale.
Unionbancal, which had assets of $31 billion at midyear, has a customer base of more than one million households. It also offers an on-line bank- at-home service.