Health insurer Discovery has hired a team of bankers as it steps up efforts to create a new lender."We're flat out with the infrastructure and the regulatory process for banking," said co-founder and CEO Adrian Gore."We've got the capital, we've hired bankers, we're building substantial systems. We want to make an offering that's relevant and can win market share."Gore started Discovery as a private health insurer in 1992 and has since expanded into investments, credit cards, life insurance and property and casualty cover. With partnerships across the US, China, Europe, Singapore and Australia, Discovery has access to a network of more than 200 million customers it can tap for its Vitality loyalty programme, which offers discounts to people who keep fit and eat healthily.Discovery offers Apple watches - which sell from R6000 on the iStore website - via Vitality to members who have a credit card through the company for a one-time fee of R350. Customers who maintain and increase their exercise regimes over the next two years will not have to pay for the watches, while missing their goals means having to make monthly payments depending on how much they fall short."We've distributed more than 30000 Apple watches," said Gore, who wears one himself and is known to walk at least five flights of stairs to his office, where a range of dumbbells lie near his desk.A year ago, Discovery said it wanted to build a bank after buying control of its credit-card unit from FirstRand.Discovery's 25% equity stake in Ping An's health insurance unit in China is another of Gore's ventures that may contribute to earnings as the demand for private health insurance in China grows.The surge in China's medical bills for its fast-ageing population represented vast potential, with health insurance predicted to grow at a compounded rate of 26% each year until the end of 2025.Not all investors are convinced by Discovery's various initiatives. The stock is down 4.9% this year.However, in the past decade the shares have risen almost sixfold, with Discovery growing to be the 28th-largest company on the JSE at a market value of R83-billion.Ventures like banking, the move into China and expanding Vitality globally would "take three to five years to get going and five to 10 years to make a profit", Gore said. "Some of the seeds being planted now may only bear fruit by the time I have my retirement party." ..