Projections: Tepid Support for One-Stop Net Shopping

Findings from NFO Interactive Inc. indicate some support for an on-line offering that combines banking, brokerage, and insurance services.

Of 767 on-line investors surveyed early this year, 40% said they would consider opening a bank account with their primary on-line broker. Thirty- two percent said they would consider buying insurance, annuities, mortgages, or other financial products through their on-line trading account.

The survey was released ahead of E-Trade Group's announcement June 1 that it would buy Telebanc Financial Corp., a leading on-line bank. The merger is intended to create just the sort of one-stop financial services shop that the NFO survey envisioned.

Banks and insurance companies also could become one-stop providers of financial services, the survey suggested. Thirty-eight percent of respondents said they would trade on-line through their bank or insurance company.

But whether consumers are ready to embrace a totally on-line, one-stop financial services relationship is questionable. Only 24% said they would like to consolidate all their financial services with a single on-line provider.

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