French telco Orange is looking to find new investors for its loss-making banking startup.
The online bank was developed thanks to the acquisition of a majority stake in lender Groupama Banque. Groupama, a French insurer, now owns 22% of the group. Orange controls the remaining 78%.
In total Orange Bank has accumulated losses of €643 million in three years.
CEO Stéphane Richard told Les Echos that it was looking to find a banking partner with the right expertise and assets to help build up Orange Bank, and said several expressions of interest have been received.
"We are convinced that there are significant synergies between the banking world and that of telecoms," he says.
Orange had set ambitious targets for its mobile bank, with a business plan that sought to attract two million customers within ten years of launch and €500 million in net income by 2023.
The latest set of results put net income at €79 million from 1.2 million customers.