Sony eyes online banking in Australia

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Sony is considering launching online banking businesses in Australia as its first step toward overseas financial operations, a company spokesman said Thursday.

Sony Bank, the group’s online banking unit, plans to open an office in Sydney in late August and begin a feasibility study, said Tadaaki Nakagawa, a spokesman with Sony Financial Holdings.

Sony Bank is a wholly owned unit of Sony Financial Holdings Inc, in which Sony has a 60% stake.

The bank has already received permission from Australian authorities to set up the office, the spokesman said.

“If we get positive results from the research, we may be able to begin our operations in Australia as early as next fiscal year” starting in April 2012, he said.

Under the plan, Sony would provide retail financial services in the Australian market through online banking, the Nikkei business daily said. Along with taking deposits, the proposed online bank will likely offer mortgages.

Having built up expertise at home in low-cost management of a branchless bank that gives it an edge on interest rates and fees, Sony hopes to expand its earnings base by foraying overseas, mainly into Asia, the daily said.

Sony Bank is the largest online bank in Japan, with assets totalling about 1.76 trillion yen ($23 billion) as of March 31.