Out-Law / Your Daily Need-To-Know

Dutch telecoms group KPN and Dutch bank ABN AMRO have decided to abandon Money Planet, a joint venture which intended to offer on-line financial services in Europe. The companies say the return on their investment would be too slow.

KPN and ABN AMRO said in a statement that although financial services are and will remain an important theme on the internet, the specific service they had in mind, offering on-line products and services from various parties, cannot provide the required return on their investment quickly enough.

KPN and ABN AMRO announced the creation of Money Planet on 18th July 2000, although it did not launch. Since then, changed market conditions made the parties reconsider their plans.

FT.com reports that Lloyds TSB also recently scrapped plans for a stand-alone internet bank, as did Allied Irish Banks and the Swiss bank Vontobel.

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