Fleet Financial Group's Internet Brokerage Firm, SURETRADE, Posts Record Account Openings, Trading Activity, and Asset Gathering in First Quarter 1999
April 20, 1999 01:05 PM
BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 20, 1999--Fleet Financial Group, Inc. (FLT-NYSE) today reported that its SURETRADE Internet brokerage firm posted record account openings, trading activity, and customer asset gathering in the first quarter of 1999.
SURETRADE increased Internet trading accounts by 38 percent in the three months ending March 31, 1999 to 260,000. Average daily trading volume was up 63 percent in the three months of the first quarter 1999 compared to the last three months of 1998, and average trading volume so far in the second quarter 1999 is running more than 35 percent higher than the first quarter. Customer assets grew by 48 percent in the first quarter, to $1.3 billion at March 31, 1999.
As previously announced on March 11, Fleet is examining options to realize maximum shareholder value for SURETRADE, including evaluating potential joint ventures or a partial or full spin-off of shares in an IPO (initial public offering).
"We are absolutely committed to capitalizing upon the unprecedented trend to Internet securities trading for the benefit of Fleet shareholders," said Thomas C. Quick, Chairman of SURETRADE. "Our goal is to ensure that we stay at the forefront of one of the most significant financial services transformations since fixed commissions were abolished nearly 25 years ago." |
