Zurich launches online bank

NEWS Zurich Financial Services has invested £90m in launching an online bank in conjunction with the Bank of Scotland. Despite optimistic predictions from Zurich who believes its new online bank will attract 300,000 users by 2007, Lloyds TSB and Allied Irish have bailed out of the venture. The site offers customers guaranteed interest rates at a minimum of 0.5 per cent below the Bank of England base rate of four per cent. Zurichbank.co.uk was opened to the institution's employees on a trial basis late last year and it already has 1,300 customers.