In brief: The Orange Bank headache is confirmed

For years now, telecom operator Orange has been trying to find the right model for its banking subsidiary in France. The offer has been thwarted since its inception and the postponement of its official launch. Since then, Orange has been trying to breathe new life into it by multiplying the changes of course. But its heavy losses now seem to be pushing the operator to give up.

Credit, real estate credit, insurance, renewal of the loan offer or even global reorganisation... Orange seems to have exhausted all strategic recourses to launch its banking subsidiary on the road to success.

Financially, the losses are getting worse, with Orange Bank having made its group lose some 880 million euros in five years. If in 2021, Orange seemed to be looking for a buyer for its activity, this decision to sell could finally be confirmed this year.

Les Echos announced that it has information about a new sale project for the neo-bank. Orange is said to have mandated the investment bank Lazard to help it find outlets for its subsidiary. A pure and simple sale would even be envisaged by the group, which would nevertheless leave itself several options regarding an external participation or even the creation of a joint-venture.

Nothing is clear yet, except that Orange is currently faced with the need to rethink its model once again.