B OF A IS $3 MILLION BUYER OF LOANS.COM.Byline: Jason Z. Cohen cohen or kohen (Hebrew: “priest”) Jewish priest descended from Zadok (a descendant of Aaron), priest at the First Temple of Jerusalem. The biblical priesthood was hereditary and male. Staff Writer The mask came off Tuesday when Bank of America
Bank of America (NYSE: BAC TYO: 8648 ) is the largest commercial bank in the United States in terms of deposits, and the largest company of its kind in the world. said it was the mysterious buyer of the Internet domain name An organization's unique name on the Internet. The chosen name combined with a top level domain (TLD), such as .com or .org, also called a "domain extension," makes up the Internet domain name. For example, computerlanguage.com is the domain name for the publisher of this Encyclopedia. loans.com. The domain name, the Internet equivalent of an address, was sold Jan. 28 by Universal City-based domain name broker and auctioneer AUCTIONEER, contracts, commerce. A person authorized by law to sell the goods of others at public sale. 2. He is the agent of both parties, the seller and the buyer. 2 Taunt. 38, 209 4 Greenl. R. 1; Chit. Contr. 208. 3. GreatDomains.com for $3 million. But the purchaser's identity had remained a secret until Tuesday. That price was the steepest paid to date for a domain name in an auction and the third-highest price fetched by a domain name, said Jeff Tinsley, GreatDomains.com's chief executive officer. Bank of America spokesman Scott Scredon said the domain name will help the bank reach customers in areas it does not already serve as well as deepen its reach to customers in states such as California, where it has banks. ``For the bank to get entry into a new state or part of the country through acquisition can cost billions of dollars,'' Scredon said. ``When you look at what a Web site can do for you, the price we paid is a lot less than that.'' The bank plans to activate the domain name soon with a link to its existing Web site with the hopes of bringing new customers in immediately. Attracting the interest of such a huge customer as Bank of America was a coup for GreatDomains.com, Tinsley said. ``We're happy that it's a big organization that bought the name, someone that can put it to its best use,'' he said. Marcelo Siero, the San Jose San Jose, city, United States San Jose (sănəzā`, săn hōzā`), city (1990 pop. 782,248), seat of Santa Clara co., W central Calif.; founded 1777, inc. 1850. computer consultant who in 1994 registered the domain name at no charge, said that although Bank of America was the only bidder, he was happy with the price he got. ``That was actually my reserve (bid),'' He said. ``If they had one competitor, who knows what it might have been?'' Siero said he registered the name when he was managing a small Internet service provider Internet service provider (ISP) Company that provides Internet connections and services to individuals and organizations. For a monthly fee, ISPs provide computer users with a connection to their site (see data transmission), as well as a log-in name and password. in the Bay Area. He had no idea of the future commercial potential of the name at that time. ``We were there early on, but even then we had a lot of competition,'' Siero said. ``I wanted to differentiate myself from (other) companies.'' His intention at first was to attach the name to e-mail addresses See Internet address. e-mail address - electronic mail address for a fee. Loans.com isn't Siero's first entrepreneurial venture on the net, but it is his most lucrative. Last year, he sold the name postoffice.com for an undisclosed amount that included an equity stake in the company formed around the name. ``That particular site - in my modest opinion - is going to revolutionize rev·o·lu·tion·ize tr.v. rev·o·lu·tion·ized, rev·o·lu·tion·iz·ing, rev·o·lu·tion·iz·es 1. To bring about a radical change in: Television has revolutionized news coverage. 2. e-mail. It's going to provide a better e-mail interface than what's there now,'' said Siero, Siero said he will put his share of the sale price to good use. ``I'm probably going to use at least part of the proceeds to do other entrepreneurial endeavors,'' Siero said. Siero said he wants to start an Internet incubator to help entrepreneurs develop their ideas into working companies. Although Siero paid nothing to register the name loans.com, he doesn't think of it as getting the name for free. ``I've never thought of it that way. There was so much work involved in running that small ISP (1) See in-system programmable. (2) (Internet Service Provider) An organization that provides access to the Internet. Connection to the user is provided via dial-up, ISDN, cable, DSL and T1/T3 lines. ,'' he said. |
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