OCTOBER 30, 2001

People's Bank Internet Site
Honored by Technology Newsletter

BRIDGEPORT, CONN.
People’s Bank’s Internet site, peoples.com, has been honored again, this time by a leading provider of banking technology newsletters and publications. Microbanker Inc., which provides research information on advanced technologies in financial institutions, awarded People’s an honorable mention in its Best in Remote Banking Award competition.

“This highly flexible and dynamic site, which was created by the bank, blends personalization, creative content management and an emphasis on customer service,” said Roy W. Urrico, managing editor of Microbanker Banking Technology Strategies, of People’s integrated banking and brokerage Web site.

Criteria for the award include innovation, marketing, new services and products, sales improvement, service improvement and cost containment.

People’s site fully allows customers to move money between their banking and People’s Securities Inc. brokerage accounts, pay bills and buy and sell stocks and mutual funds online. Users can also shop for insurance through People’s insurance subsidiary, RC Knox & Company, at rcknox.com, which is linked to peoples.com.

The Microbanker award is just the latest in a growing number of honors for peoples.com. People’s Web site has also been highly rated in two studies of financial services companies in the United States, Canada and Latin America. In July, Atlanta-based Speer & Associates ranked peoples.com sixth of 168 sites, while last December S & A ranked peoples.com fifth of 172 sites. In both instances, peoples.com was rated better than the Web sites of such well-known companies as Charles Schwab, Fidelity Investments, PaineWebber, First Union, Key Corp. and HSBC.

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.

“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 confirms the success of our ‘bricks and clicks’ strategy of providing custom tailored financial solutions through seamlessly integrated delivery channels.”

In 1995, People’s because 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.

In June 2000, 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 integrated services, peoples.com customers may also chat online with or request a telephone call from a customer service representative. Bank personnel also respond promptly to e-mailed questions.

And the addition of rcknox.com makes peoples.com a one-stop shopping site for a complete array of financial products and services. Through rcknox.com, retail customers can get online quotes for auto insurance, home insurance and laptop insurance, while commercial customers can manage their employee benefits information.

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.