"Since launching the E*Trade bank Web site early last year, we have demonstrated strong growth across all key metrics, with significant gains coming from cross-sell efforts to the E*Trade brokerage customer base," says Mitchell H. Caplan, chief banking officer of E*Trade Group, Inc.

E*Trade bank has more than doubled in size compared to one year ago, when it reported $2.7 billion in deposits. The bank's successful marketing campaign and cross-sell strategy has resulted in a growth rate of 116% for deposits over the past 12 months, exceeding the industry standard of 7% as based on current FDIC data.

By comparison, leading institutions such as Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Citigroup are increasing deposits at a rate below 20% a year. E*Trade's next closest pure-play competitor Netbank has grown deposits by nearly 90%, yet E*Trade bank, at $6 billion, continues to maintain a deposit base approximately five times greater.

Demonstrating an increasingly efficient marketing program, acquisition costs at E*Trade bank continue to decline. As of the quarter ending December 31, 2000, the bank's acquisition costs were under $117 per account, a decrease of 12% from the previous quarter, and 39% as compared to the same quarter a year ago.

As E*Trade has moved to create a diversified financial services model, both brokerage customers and mainstream consumers have demonstrated strong demand for the company's integrated banking products. E*Trade brokerage customers continue to represent an increasing percentage of the bank's new accounts, generating close to 63% of net new accounts as of December 31, 2000, as compared to 46% in the previous quarter and 24% in the same quarter a year ago.

E*Trade bank is currently positioned as the nation's 19th largest federally chartered savings bank. It was the first and only pure-play Internet bank to break into the ranks of the top 20 federal savings banks by crossing $4 billion in deposits in January 2000.