Understanding niche markets is critical for banks in my estimation.  The other day I posted about women.  Here is another niche, gays, who have high income, propensity to spend,  borrow and save.  Ideal bank customers.

Survey: Online banking services more vital to gays | Chicago Tribune

Gay men and lesbians are significantly more interested in Internet banking and are more confident investors than heterosexuals, a new study shows.

When deciding where to conduct business, 60 percent of gays say it’s very important that a financial institution provide service through the Internet, compared with only 50 percent of heterosexuals, according to a survey released Monday by Harris Interactive and Witeck-Combs Communications.

More on their relative attractiveness to banks.

Research also showed that gays are more likely than heterosexuals to agree that they feel confident enough to make sensible investment decisions (33 percent vs. 23 percent). They also enjoy learning about investing and talking about it with friends and families more than straight people (27 percent vs. 18 percent).

Gays also are more likely than heterosexuals to seek financial advice from the Internet (22 percent vs. 17 percent) or from magazines, books or newspapers (19 percent vs. 11 percent). Little difference was found in attitudes about the importance of competitive pricing, convenient locations, and friendly service.