2000 Year in Review
Published: Dec. 31, 2000: OBR 67
Abstract: Y2K was an interesting year. To the surprise of many, the year started without incident. The lights stayed on, the terrorists stayed home, and banks were able to move on to IT initiatives that had a positive impact on the bottom line. In the United States...

Online Lending, Version 4.0 (Part I)
Published: Nov. 27, 2000: OBR 66
Abstract: We've just witnessed the dot-com flame-outs of Mortgage.com and iOwn along with the free-fall in the share prices of most other pure online lenders. Is it time to write off the online loan marketplace as a passing fad? Hardly. Despite the rhetoric in...

Building the Amazon.com of Financial Services
Published: Oct. 13, 2000: OBR 64/65
Abstract: Whether Net-oriented brands open physical storefronts such as DirectBanking.com's Boston branch, is really a marketing question. It worked for Schwab, it will work for several Net-oriented banks, but it's not likely to be a core strategy for most. It...

Account Aggregation 2.0
Published: Sep. 6, 2000: OBR 63
Abstract: It's been one year since we first profiled financial account aggregation pioneer VerticalOne (OBR 53, p. 19-24). Account aggregation, aka statement aggregation, which we named the number one milestone of 1999 (OBR 57/58, p. 8), has generated an unusual...

2001 Planning
Published: Jul. 10, 2000: OBR 61/62
Abstract: Last year we led the annual planning issues with the title, "The Honeymoon is Over" (OBR 52). What we meant was that competition had yet to become intense in the online banking sector. In looking back over the past 12 months, we can see that competition...

Online Banking by the Numbers
Published: Jun. 16, 2000: OBR 60
Abstract: May 2000 marks the five-year anniversary of Online Banking Report as we publish our 60th monthly report. It’s also been five years since Wells Fargo first began posting customer statements on the Web, the first bank in the world to do so. Last month...

Net Banking Catches Fire
Published: Apr. 15, 2000: OBR 59
Abstract: Why do we think Net banking is catching fire? One word, actually one letter, X. The buzz-building Silicon Valley startup X.com is delivering useful, low-cost, and easy-to-use financial services. Leveraging this appealing and viral product, X.com and...

Nothing but Net
Published: Feb. 28, 2000: OBR 57/58
Abstract: Five years after Web banking began at Wells Fargo in May 1995, are we beginning to see serious challengers to the old guard? Find out in our analysis of the new Net-only players, X.com, everbank.com, Virtual Bank, the newly funded CompuBank, and a dozen...

E-Service (part 2 & 3)
Published: Jan. 12, 2000: OBR 55/56
Abstract: During the summer of 1999, we tested the email service of U.S. financial institutions. The results were terrible. At the time we chalked it up to the learning curve and summer vacations. But we found little, if any, improvement in our tests in Oct. and...