Sony Corp. plans to have Sakura Bank become a major investor in an Internet-based bank it hopes to set up next year, industry sources said Wednesday.

The electronics and entertainment powerhouse expects a partnership with Sakura to help it get a banking license, the sources said.

Sony plans to apply to the Financial Reconstruction Committee and the Financial Supervisory Agency for the license in the near future, they said.

A number of foreign banks with expertise in Internet-based account settlements and private banking are also likely to invest in the bank, which is to be capitalized at 20 billion yen with Sony the majority shareholder, the sources said.

Sony initially planned to set up the online bank alone, but later decided to take advantage of Sakura's financial expertise and automatic teller machine network to cut costs.

Sakura and Sony have a close relationship, with the bank supplying an external executive on Sony's board.

Sakura sees the tieup as further diversifying its service channels from its own online banking services, its ATMs installed in convenience stores, and another Internet-based bank it plans to set up with Fujitsu Ltd. and Nippon Life Insurance Co.

Sony intends to use the Internet-based bank to facilitate settlement procedures for customers of its other online services, which range from distribution of music and movie data via the Internet to electronic commerce systems for its electronic appliances.