On-Line Banking: Net.Bank Made $768,000 Profit In 2d Quarter

Net.Bank Inc. reported second-quarter net income of $768,000, nearly five times the year-earlier total.

The Atlanta-based bank, which exists primarily on the Internet, said per-share earnings rose to 3 cents, from 1 cent. It had earned $158,000 in the 1998 quarter.

Net.Bank said its account total grew 114% from Jan. 1 to June 30. Seventy-two percent of its more than 39,000 accounts at midyear were transactional checking and money market accounts.

The bank grew faster than ever before in the second quarter, said D.R. Grimes, the chief executive officer. "We more than doubled our own marketing efforts, and we saw increased advertising of Internet banking in general. Both contributed to the general public's awareness of the ease and convenience of on-line banking."

For the half, net income totaled $1.46 million, or 6 cents a share, up from $58,000 a year earlier-less than a penny a share. The per-share figures reflect a 3-for-1 stock split May 14.

Net.Bank completed a major upgrade to its on-line technology platform and expanded its lending services during the half.

The company said it has closed more than $260 million of first mortgage loans in the 12 months through June and plans to introduce home equity loans over the Internet and other consumer lending products during the third quarter.

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