JULY 31, 2001
peoples.com Again Rated Among Top
Financial Services Web Sites

BRIDGEPORT, CONN.
Once again, People’s Bank’s Internet site, peoples.com, has earned high marks when measured against the banking and brokerage Web sites of financial services companies in the United States, Canada and Latin America. In its latest study, Atlanta-based Speer & Associates, Inc., ranked peoples.com sixth, ahead of such well-known companies as Charles Schwab, Fidelity Investments, PaineWebber, First Union, Key Corp. and HSBC.

People’s was the only United States company of its size to make the S & A study’s top 25. A total of 168 companies’ Web sites were studied.

In January, Speer & Associates ranked peoples.com was ranked fifth out of 172 companies studied. In its new study, Speer & Associates actually gave peoples.com a higher grade than in the study released in January, but Wells Fargo, which revamped its site, jumped from 80th place in the January study to first ahead of People’s and the four other companies that finished ahead of People’s in the earlier study.

“Customers want an online banking site that works, is fast and is easy to use, and peoples.com delivers on all three counts,” said John A. Klein, People’s president and CEO. “Recognition by national experts like Speer & Associates confirms the success of our ‘bricks and clicks’ strategy of providing custom tailored financial solutions through seamlessly integrated delivery channels.”

In 1995, People’s became one of the first banks in the country to establish an Internet presence. The original site included information about the bank and links to Connecticut-based community, news, arts and entertainment sites. The second generation of the site, introduced in 1997, included more information about products and services and featured increasing levels of functionality.

Last June, People’s introduced the third generation of peoples.com, which gives customers the ability to fully integrate their banking and brokerage accounts, to pay bills online and to access their People’s credit card account histories. The site also offers online cash management for small businesses. All of these services are provided at no charge except for securities trading.

People’s NASD-member brokerage subsidiary, People’s Securities, Inc., started offering online trading through peoples.com in October 1999, and today 50 percent of all PSI trades are ordered online.

At peoples.com, customers can review checking and brokerage account balances and transfer funds between People’s Bank Plus checking accounts and PSI investment accounts. It also serves businesses, from the small business customer through to the large corporate customer, with services that include an online cash management system.

In addition to the integration of services, peoples.com gives customers the option of chatting online with or requesting a telephone call from a customer service representative. Bank personnel also respond promptly to e-mailed questions.

By providing insurance functionality through rcknox.com, the Web site of People’s insurance subsidiary, RC Knox & Company, peoples.com is one-stop shopping for a complete array of financial products and services. Using rcknox.com, customers can get online quotes for auto insurance, home insurance and laptop insurance. Commercial customers can manage their employee benefits information online using rcknox.com.

In conducting its latest study, S & A examined the financial services Web sites of 168 companies based in the United States, Canada and Latin America, combining business development and transactional scores for an overall “variance from best practices” ranking. Only Wells Fargo, Juniper Bank, an Internet-only company, American Express Company, Citigroup and Comerica Bank, the nation’s 23rd largest bank, ranked ahead of People’s.

The Speer studies are not the first to give high marks to peoples.com. Last year, Retail Delivery News rated the site an “A,” saying peoples.com “is a great site, easy to navigate with a number of different demos, an easy-to-follow menu and bold call-out boxes.” On the strength of rcknox.com’s insurance functionality, People’s Bank was recently named “eBusiness of the Week” by Internet Week magazine.

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 $13 billion, 144 branches and 220 ATMs. People’s is a leader in consumer and commercial banking, residential lending, insurance sales and 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.