March 12, 2003

People's Bank Ranked in Top Ten with Seamless Online Customer Access to Financial Life

BRIDGEPORT, CONN.

People's Bank has added increased functionality to its People's Online Banking services that places it squarely in the vanguard of banks across the nation in providing seamless, convenient access to customers for personal, credit card, investment and business banking needs.

Speer & Associates, an independent financial services industry consultant, ranked People's among the top 10 financial institutions in the Western Hemisphere for its Web site's transactional and business development capabilities. People's ranked in the top two in the large community bank segment in transactional and business development capabilities.

"We're very pleased to be on the leading edge in providing online financial services solutions to our customers as we have been in our brick-and-mortar and telephone banking services over the years," said Ted Josephson, People's vice president, e-Business. "Some banks see customers as just a particular product - a checking, brokerage or a business account. At People's, we look at the whole person. We understand that our customers have complex lives, and we are trying to help them simplify the financial aspects of their lives."

People's, which led the online banking business in 1995 with its innovative online banking services, now provides customers with the flexibility to manage their complete financial relationship in one convenient place. Customers can sign up online and, within a few minutes, rapidly and easily access their personal checking and savings, business banking, credit card and investment accounts with a single log on. People's also offers online tax services through Turbo Tax for the Web.

People's (peoples.com) 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, 155 branches and more than 230 ATMs. People's is a leader in consumer and commercial banking, residential lending, insurance sales, supermarket banking and is the nation's 19th-largest issuer of MasterCard and Visa credit cards. People's subsidiaries offer brokerage services, asset management, equipment financing and leasing, and insurance services.