UBank deposits average $40k

NAB provided a couple of data points on its two-year-old UBank business yesterday. Deposit balances now exceed $5 billion and customer numbers exceed 125,000.

UBank was "a key contributor" to the retail bank's growth in household deposits, NAB said, in commentary published with its financial statements.

Whether UBank is making a profit is less clear.

Mark Joiner, executive director of finance told the investor briefing yesterday that "it is a high margin, low cost offering, but it's in line with the marginal cost of funds in wholesale areas and in term deposits.  

"While it's making a contribution to our liquidity, at the same time we're building a franchise."

UBank plans to introduce a home loan product "before the end of 2010", Cameron Clyne, the bank's managing director, told the briefing.
 
In the meantime, one part of NAB's customer base may be receiving a decent yield and possibly better service through UBank, but other customers are being left behind.

The bank lifted the level of deposits earning no interest in Australia by $2.6 billion to $13.7 billion over the year.