Insurer Zurich Financial Services has launched an internet bank called zurichbank.co.uk, with the aim of attracting more than 300,000 customers in the nest five years.
The Financial Times reported that ZFS had spent £90m on the venture, which plans to target the savings and current account markets.
It is offering a guaranteed current account interest rate of half a percentage point below the bank of England base rate - currently 4%.
It also plans to offer mortgages and will cross-sell ZFS insurance products to customers.
The bank is based in Cheltenham and already has 1,300 customers, mostly ZFS employees.
