KeyBank’s Laurel Road for Doctors, a digital banking platform tailored to physicians and dentists, has signed up 5,000 users since its March launch. Now, the $187 billion bank plans to apply its targeted-demographic strategy with a similar offering for nurses to launch in early 2022.

It’s a potential market of more than 4 million users across the country, Cleveland-based KeyBank’s CEO and Chairman Chris Gorman said during Tuesday’s virtual Goldman Sachs’ Financial Services conference.

“Earlier this year, we launched our national digital bank Laurel Road for Doctors, which by the way has exceeded our expectations,” he said. “It’s interesting [that] half of these new health care households are already using multiple products.”

Doctors and dentists represent 20% of all KeyBank mortgages, Gorman said. By targeting specific customer segments, the bank’s geographic footprint has expanded with 75% of new business coming from outside its traditional 15-state territory, he added.

Digital sales are up 30% year over year, and nearly 85% of the clients who consider Key to be their primary bank are digitally active, Gorman said.

KeyBank acquired Laurel Road in 2019. The online lending business provides solutions to targeted customer segments, such as health care professionals, lawyers and graduate students.

“This represents a huge growth opportunity for us,” he said. “We are excited to continue to grow and expand health care relationships.”

KeyBank isn’t the only bank to look toward health care for expansion. In August, $203.9 billion Fifth Third Bank completed its acquisition of health care fintech Provide. The Cincinnati-based bank has offered loans to customers on the platform since 2020.

Citizens Financial Group also is adopting a digital-first business model, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Bruce Van Saun said Tuesday during a conference fireside chat. The $186.1 billion bank will pursue a “thin branch network” approach as part of that strategy, he said.

That raised a question from the moderator about why the Providence, R.I.-based bank acquired Investors Bancorp, Inc. — and its approximately 200 branches in the New York metropolitan area — in July.

“If you actually look at gaining primacy and … owning the relationship of a bank customer, they value having branches, and so we didn’t think we could attack the New York market without that factor,” Van Saun said.

The conference continued Wednesday, with executives from JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, PNC and PayPal among those participating.

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