Bank of Internet <bofi.com> announced today the launch of its second specialized online bank, Senior BofI <seniorbofi.com>. While it may not be the sexiest name on the planet, it does help establish the link to the more established entity, Bank of Internet, a comfort to the market it's going after, seniors.

This marks the second specialized online bank operated by BofI, the five-year-old, online-only bank. The other is Apartment Bank <apartmentbank.com>, which caters to owners of multifamily-housing properties.

Analysis
We like BofI's strategy of going after national niche markets with specialized services. The ApartmentBank concept is especially unique given the small total universe it serves. Looking at the recent fundings, it appears to be gaining some traction, especially in Texas, Arizona and a few neighboring states. The website lists 12 deals worth $16.6 million, half the dollar volume from Texas (click for screenshot of Apartment Bank).

We are less enthusiastic about the initial Senior Bank implementation. Given the competition for this segment, the bank will need to mount a stronger effort. Other than the user-friendly SMALL/MEDIUM/LARGE/X-LARGE font selection tool in the lower-left of the homepage (click on screenshot above for closeup), there isn't much to differentiate the bank, or its products, from thousands of other banks, most of whom cater to seniors with special accounts and pricing.

For example, The Community Center is dominated by a list of DVDs for sale at Amazon, including Batman Begins, and TV shows, Lost, Firefly, and Friends (see inset). The bank loses whatever credibility it had gained on its homepage once seniors see random selections from Amazon's inventory dumped onto the website. Seniors don't even like to shop online, especially for DVDs aimed at 20-somethings.

The Grades
A for strategy
B for implementation of Apartment Bank
C- for implementation of Senior Bank

--JB