Orange Bank is said to be one of the key neobanks in France. Credit: Clay Banks on Unsplash.

French telecommunications company Orange is open to considering “all opportunities” for its online banking business, Reuters reported. 

“In a very highly competitive environment in the banking market, Orange is considering all opportunities to develop Orange Bank’s activities and support its growth,” a spokesperson for Orange told the news agency. 

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Orange’s response comes after a report by the French newspaper Les Echos, which said that the group had tasked investment bank Lazard to explore a sale or alliance for Orange Bank. 

Orange declined to confirm the report. 

According to media reports last year, the telecommunications firm was ready to give up control of its loss-making subsidiary. 

At the time, among French other lenders, BNP Paribas was seen as the top suitor for the digital bank. 

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Last October, Orange reached an agreement to buy insurance firm Groupama’s 21.7% stake in Orange Bank.

Concurrently, Orange announced plans to invest €230m in the online bank to drive business growth. 

At that time, Orange Bank CEO Paul de Leusse said: “We are now speeding up our industrial and geographic development strategy for a bank that is inherently designed to be accessible to everyone and used over the mobile phone.”

In January 2021, Orange Bank brokered a deal to buy digital bank Anytime to bolster its capabilities in the small business market. 

Recently, Paris-based Orange Bank joined forces with SAS and Neterium to access real-time sanctions screening service.