ATLANTA - NetBank said it opened more than 22,000 accounts in the second quarter, its biggest quarter yet and a 38% improvement from the 16,000 it opened in the first quarter.
The Internet-only bank has 104,000 accounts.
D.R. Grimes, chief executive officer of NetBank, said the results "clearly demonstrate the viability of our Web-based business model."
Account acquisition costs for the quarter came in below $200 per account, which is lower than in the third and fourth quarters when NetBank did a radio ad campaign. It has abandoned that campaign and returned to an Internet advertising model.
NetBank also focused in the second quarter on contacting potential customers who applied for accounts and were accepted but never put money in the bank. Mr. Grimes said the bank has converted 30% of those people into active account holders over the past three months through an aggressive phone campaign.
