EUROPE'S 20 LARGEST BANK'S WEB SITES ALL FAIL USER EXPERIENCE TESTING BY
                            FORRESTER RESEARCH

    ***UK And German Bank Sites Lead As France, Italy, And Spain Lag***


LONDON, 28 May 2002 . . . Flawed navigation and customer service frustrate
today's Web banking users, but low-cost design fixes and an ongoing focus
on user experience will help firms win sought-after online transactions,
according to a new report by Forrester Research (Nasdaq: FORR).

To uncover how European banking sites can improve, Forrester graded the
sites of the 20 largest European retail banks according to its user
experience review methodology, which evaluates how well sites help users
achieve their goals. Significantly, even the best sites don't pass overall
usability, and the top-rated Halifax, Credit Suisse, and Deutsche Bank
sites didn't reach an overall passing grade. British and German bank sites
beat Italian, French, and Spanish banks.

"Europe's top retail banks each spend between 20 million euros to 50
million euros annually on their Web sites, and the stakes keep rising as
banks gear up to welcome 20 million new European online banking users,
building a critical mass of 64 million online bankers by the end of 2002,"
said Forrester Analyst Charlotte Hamilton. "Most of Europe's large retail
banks say they focused last year on enhancing navigation and layout, and
this year they intend to improve transactions. To monitor their site's
success, most firms track traffic and customer visits, but only 44 percent
analyze interactions or sales. At present, most firms apportion a third of
their budget to infrastructure and integration, a third to building
transactions and tools, and the remainder to fund content, site performance
monitoring, and design."

Banks' site scores justify the money spent on content, tools, and
infrastructure. Two-thirds of firms pass for availability of essential
content and function; the leaders display clear product information at each
step, supporting users with functions like mortgage calculators. More than
two-thirds of sites pass for reliability, but poor navigation and service
conspire to spoil the user experience. While most sites' text and graphics
are visible and logically presented, standards for site navigation and
service are below a pass, with half of the sites failing to offer
alternative access to content through search engines. Finally, customers
are offered little or no on-site help at present.

"To leverage their site's value and reliability, banks must continuously
work on the design improvements and use accepted Web design standards,
while working hard to keep experienced Web browsers engaged," Hamilton
added. "Rather than putting only one link on the home page to log in to an
account, best practice sites will offer frequently used links consistently
throughout the site alongside "help" and "contact us." For users less at
ease with Web navigation, firms should offer search as another route to
content and functions, and link unsuccessful searchers to the call center.
And, crucially, today's bank sites do little to assuage consumers' fears
about how firms use their data online, with few firms giving clear and
consistent access to privacy policies throughout the site. This is the most
failed criteria alongside the absence of search engines. Banks must make
their users feel comfortable inputting personal and private data, to move
customers up the confidence curve."

For the report "Making Online Banks Usable," Forrester first spoke with 18
of the largest European retail banks about their Web development strategy,
and graded the sites of the 20 largest European retail banks according to
its user experience review methodology. To evaluate sites, Forrester graded
three tasks: 1) an early adopter applying to purchase a loan or insurance
product; 2) a mainstream user transferring funds across accounts; and 3) a
technology novice seeking basic information on online banking.

Forrester Research is a leading emerging-technology research firm providing
data and analysis that defines the impact of technology change on business.
Forrester's WholeView? Research, Events, and Strategic Services help Global
3,500 clients understand how technology change affects their customers,
strategy, and technology investment. Established in 1983, Forrester is
headquartered in Cambridge, Mass. For additional information, visit
www.forrester.com.