Bankinter

Bankinter

  • Submitted By: webkinder
  • Date Submitted: 02/26/2009 9:23 PM
  • Category: Business
  • Words: 264
  • Page: 2
  • Views: 258

Recognizing the Intemet as both a low-cost chartnel ald a way for a smaller balk to offer senices
to technology-sa''y customers, Bankinter launched its online site, ebankinter.com, in 1997. Arena
recalled the bank's vien' of the lntemet:
As early as 1996, we became enticed by the Internet. In 7999, I went to FIBS and to
Microsoft's Seattle headquarters, and I became aware of all the things that were happening
\.ith this technology. The markets were blowing up with technology securities. These
experiences led to a sense of urgency. I came back to Madrid, and I moved very fast. I wanted
to accelerate the process of developing the Internet. I moved my office to the outskirts of
Madrid, where the IT group was based, and set up a tearn dedicated to lntemet development
We had the temptation to create a stand-alone Intemet bank, which would keep the
incumbent part of the bank intact. There were voices urging us to do this. We even applied for
a bank license. But in the end we realized that would be the wrong rnove. We needed to play
with all our stren8ths ald take all the opportunities available to us. To some extent it was a
win-or-disappear proposition. So instead we decided to t ansform out bank. Our fust strategy
was the migration of all our systems to the Intemet. We wanted to be the first in Europe. From
the beginning we showed tremendous determination to change*to transform our bank. The
market really prizes that kind of determination.