JUNE 21, 2001

New Customer-Focused Application Process
Keeps People's on Top of Mortgage Market

BRIDGEPORT, CONN.
People’s Bank, Connecticut’s number one mortgage lender as ranked by The Commercial Record, today announced a faster and more efficient customer-focused mortgage application process that makes it easier for customers to apply for mortgages wherever and whenever it’s most convenient for them.

The typical mortgage application at a People’s branch now requires 60 percent less information than in the past. The process of filling out an application can now take as little as 30 minutes.

Once the application is complete, People’s new system allows a quick evaluation of credit risk and loan eligibility. The new process cuts the approval time from two to three weeks to only two to three days and reduces the processing steps by 50 percent.

“We made significant investments in technology and training to reinvent our mortgage process, and those investments are now reaping dividends,” said Bryan J. Huebner, executive vice president, Consumer Financial Services at People’s. “Our customers now can buy or refinance their homes much more quickly with People’s, the state’s largest mortgage lender.”

In addition to increasing the speed of the application and approval processes, People’s also significantly increased the number of ways to apply for a mortgage. Now customers can apply quickly in any one of People’s 143 branches, including 53 seven-day-a-week Stop & Shop offices and by telephone or People’s mortgage account officers will visit customers in their homes, at their offices or even at their real estate agents’ offices.

“For too long, the process of getting a mortgage had been painfully long, paper-intensive and customer unfriendly,” continued Huebner. “To stay on top of the mortgage market in Connecticut, we knew we had to make the process simpler and faster, and now our investments and efforts are paying off.”

In 2000, People’s closed, on average, $60 million worth of loans per month. In April 2001, using the new process, People’s closed more than $150 million worth of mortgages while providing customers with a much higher level of convenience and service.

People’s is a diversified financial services company providing commercial, consumer, insurance and investment services. Founded in 1842, it is the largest state-chartered bank in Connecticut with managed assets of $14 billion, 143 branches and 220 ATMs. People’s is a leader in consumer and commercial banking, residential lending, insurance sales, supermarket banking and is the nation’s 16th-largest issuer of MasterCard and Visa credit cards. People’s subsidiaries offer brokerage services, asset management, equipment financing and leasing, and insurance services.