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. 

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. 

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.