May 19, 2003

Fairfield County Votes People's Best Bank

BRIDGEPORT, CONN. - Readers of the Fairfield County Weekly, a publication of New Mass Media, voted People's "Best Bank" in Fairfield County. Convenience, commitment to customers and reliability are attributes the Weekly notes in its annual listing. The publication cites the bank's 155 branches and 63 full-service locations in Super Stop & Shops where customers can open deposit accounts, obtain mortgages and partner with financial planning advisors.

"Advisors (at People's) help customers with . . . retirement and planning for their children's education," the article states.

Customer service and the customer experience is a key focus at the bank, and People's consistently gets high marks from customers in ongoing surveys, according to an industry expert. "People's is consistently the best and it has maintained that position primarily because of the strength of its management team," said Paul J. Diguette, president of The MarComm Group, which conducts frequent customer service surveys for the banking industry.

People's recent redesign of its branch management structure is one example of this focus. Branches statewide now are organized into 26 distinct markets. Clusters of branches work together under a single manager to provide customers in the area with a seamless, unparalleled customer experience. A team comprised of a financial service manager and a customer service manager heads up most branches. The financial service manager focuses on building long-term relationships with customers while the customer service manager concentrates on creating a consistently superior customer experience.

"We are so pleased and want to thank all of the Fairfield County Weekly readers who voted People's best bank in the county," said Robert R. D?Amore, People's executive vice president for Marketing and Regional Banking. "Every branch employee concentrates on ensuring that each of our customers is treated with the special care that they deserve. We believe that is the reason we enjoy the high customer service ratings from MarComm and are the Best Bank for Fairfield County Weekly's readers."

People's Bank (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 assets of $12 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.