January 23, 2001

Peoples.Com Among Top Five Financial Services Internet Sites

Rated Higher than Many Well-Known Companies’ Sites

BRIDGEPORT, CONN.
People's Bank's Internet site, peoples.com, is one of the top five banking and brokerage web sites in the United States, Canada and Latin America, according to a study of 172 companies' sites by a leading financial services consulting firm.

In the study, conducted by Atlanta-based Speer &Associates, Inc., People's ranked ahead of such well-known companies as Charles Schwab, Fidelity Investments, PaineWebber, First Union, Key Corp., Wells Fargo and HSBC. People's was the only United States company of its size to make the S &A study's top 25.

"We're delighted with this news,"said John A. Klein, People's president and chief executive officer. "The Speer study recognizes the hard work we've put into making our web presence an effective vehicle for our customers. We believe that technology is not an end in itself, but rather as part of our 'bricks and clicks' strategy, technology is a means of making it easier for our customers to get the products and services when and how it's most convenient for them."

People's became one of the first banks in the country to establish an Internet presence. The original site, launched in 1995, 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.

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.

"We see the Internet as one part of our overall strategy to give customers the best possible service wherever they touch us, whether it's in a branch, on the telephone, at an ATM or on the Internet,"said Michael J. Leone, People's executive vice president, eBusiness. "With our 'Live Banker Now' and 'Call Me Now' features, our customers know that there are experts on the other side ready and willing to help them seven days a week."

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.

And a popular returning feature allows consumers to prepare their federal and state income tax returns online using a special version of Intuit's popular TurboTax software. Consumers can test-drive the software for free and only pay for using the software if they use it to file their returns electronically.

In conducting the study, S &A examined 172 Internet financial services sites of 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 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 study is 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."

People's (www.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 $14 billion, 146 branches and 225 ATMs. People's is a leader in consumer and commercial banking, residential lending, insurance sales and supermarket banking. An international credit card issuer, it ranks 17th nationally as an issuer of MasterCard and Visa credit cards. People's subsidiaries offer brokerage services, asset management, equipment financing and leasing, and insurance services.

CONTACTS:
Paul T. Nonnenmacher, media relations officer, Corporate Communications, 203-338-3478 or ptnonne@peoples.com

Deborah P. MacDonnell, manager, External Communications, 203-338-3255 or dpmacdo@peoples.com

Roberta Burns-Howard, vice president, Corporate Communications, 203-338-2378 or rjburns@peoples.com.