And so, Gonzo brethren, it is with teary eyes and heavy hearts that we bid a sad farewell to Wingspan. The noble experiment of the Internet-only bank, forever lost to us.
And what a ride it was. We laughed, we cried, and we marveled at the goings on of the wild and wacky guys and gals who brought us so much entertainment and fun. Whatever can replace it? Naught, I fear.
But before we bid a final adieu to the noble experiment, let’s wander down memory lane and re-live the experience one more time, inspired by the words of the principals themselves:
“If a bank could start over, this is what it would be.”
– First Wingspan tag line, June 1999
“Wingspan is Bank One’s standalone online banking effort. We saw it as an opportunity to reach out to heavy online users as something unique – it has no brick and mortar associated with it.”
– Jeff Lyttle, SVP for Technology Communications, April 2000
“…Our customers will find that WingspanBank.com is the most useful financial Web site in the Internet.”
– Jim Stewart, Wingspan President and CEO, July 1999
“Bank One will be in a position to attract all types of customers… This is a step in the direction of becoming a trusted advisor to the customer.”
– Richard Vague, Chairman of First USA and Wingspan, June 1999
“In developing Wingspan, we started off with a clean slate. We chose what we considered to be ‘best in class’ providers, those that have developed state-of-the-art technology and systems.”
– Stewart, July 1999
“(We) developed a culture that allowed executives to think quickly and execute immediately.”
– Stewart, August 1999
“After two weeks of due diligence, the IT team chose companies whose base software was Web-enabled and who demonstrated they could innovate and operate at Internet speed.”
– Bill Wallace, CIO, Wingspan, October 1999
“Wingspan.com is demonstrating that it has both the foresight and ability required to win in e-business.”
– Brian Mounce, IBM executive, on IBM hosting the Wingspan Web site, July 1999
“We were extremely impressed with their focus on putting the customer first.”
– Janina Pawlowski, E-Loan, on its Wingspan partnership, July 1999
“Working together, WingspanBank.com and Insweb are fully leveraging the power of the Internet.”
– Paul Weiskopf, Insweb, on its Wingspan insurance alliance, August 1999
“Wingspan is well positioned to attract customers as a new entrant in the online banking industry.”
– Nancy Langer, Metavante, on Wingspan using M&I bill payment services, July 1999
“The first mover advantage will allow us to learn more quickly than our competitors what those things are that customers value.”
– Wallace, November 1999
“If it were a privately traded company, the market value would be several times more than the investment made to date by Bank One (based on comparable valuations).”
– Stewart, July 2000
“Wingspan has 95,000 customers in June 2000, compared to 600,000 using Bank One online services.”
– Quote from company officials, September 2000
“Wingspan is not as large as originally anticipated because planned marketing expenditures were subsequently slashed due to Bank One’s earnings shortfall.”
– Stewart, July 2000
“It was closer to half that for the first year.”
– Stewart, when asked about reports that Bank One invested $150 million in Wingspan
“Pure Internet plays are having a hard time getting off the ground. It’s harder to make deposits. It’s harder to make withdrawals.”
– Bruce Leucke, EVP, Bank One Retail Group, September 2000
“Wingspan will pilot a program in which Wingspan customers will be able to open accounts at Bank One branches.”
– Company press release, November 2000
“We heard from people who didn’t know how to get money into the bank. We asked customers, and 80% said they would like to deposit into an ATM.”
– Kevin Watters, SVP of Wingspan, January 2001
“We don’t have any sales or liquidations to do. The Internet is too critical to our business.”
– New CEO Jamie Dimon, July 2000, when asked about closing or selling Wingspan
“It’s fine to cannibalize ourselves. It’s better than having someone else do it.”
– Dimon, August 2000
“The Internet basically stinks. It’s slow, it’s tedious, it doesn’t work all the time. It’s like walking into the library where all the books are thrown on the floor.”
– Dimon, September 2000
“Companies that are part of larger companies have different sets of issues than standalone companies.”
– Stewart, October 2000
“We didn’t get a chance to deploy the vast majority of plans we had for Wingspan, and we didn’t think it could survive as part of a big, bureaucratic organization. So we decided to leave and start our own bank.”
– Vague, on announcing that he and Stewart were resigning from Wingspan to form Juniper Financial, May 2001
“In creating the Consumer Internet Group, we reaffirmed our strategy of leveraging the benefits of Internet initiatives across Bank One. The group’s first major initiative is to integrate the invaluable experience, insight and resources of WinspanBank.com into all our consumer Internet offerings. (Wingspan) has done a terrific job of understanding the Internet’s capabilities… now, they will help bring that into the daily business of providing the best possible Internet service to all of Bank One’s customers.”
– Dimon, on the elimination of Wingspan as an independent entity, June 2001
Couldn’t have said it better myself, boys. Adieu, Wingspan. -tr
(Note: Thanks to Linette Harris for all her research on this article.)