BankOnline@Hibernia.com Exceeds 200,000 Customers

Hibernia celebrates the five-year anniversary of Bank Onlines introduction, the anniversary comes as Hibernia celebrates a major achievement for Bank Online: there are now more than 200,000 customers actively using the free service. Bank Online is the service that allows customers to set their own banking hours, manage their accounts from any desktop or portable computer with Internet access and pay bills without stamps or envelopes, among other features. Hibernia was the first Louisiana-based bank to offer an online banking service. Since that introduction, the company has made many enhancements and added features to ensure Bank Online is in step with the needs and preferences of customers. For instance, in September 2003 Hibernia offered its popular Bill Pay feature for free, waiving the monthly fee customers had previously paid for the convenience. Another important enhancement came when the company introduced My Alerts, a service which provides Bank Online customers with timely notification through e-mail or alphanumeric pager about financial events that take place in their accounts, such as payroll deposits, minimum balances or interest payments. Hibernias commitment to improving its online offerings was recognized earlier this year by the Customer Respect Group, an international research and consulting firm based in Bellevue, Wash., that analyzes the online customer experience of the nations largest companies. In January, the group ranked Hibernia eighth among the nations 76 largest financial-services companies in its independent Online Customer Respect Study. Bank Online is just one of the features available on Hibernia.com that make banking easier and more convenient for customers. Other site features include online consumer, small-business and mortgage-loan applications; online financial calculators and articles on personal and small-business financial issues to help visitors make informed decisions; and the ability to open an "e-storefront" that can sell items, accept credit-card payments and display merchandise or services.