(February 5 – 15:15 ET) – Canadian banks and brokers are engaged in a competitive struggle to win the loyalty of online users, according to the latest Internet Scorecard rankings launched by GomezCanada. The company revealed the results of the Winter 2000 Internet Banks Scorecard and Winter 2000 Internet Brokers Scorecard today.

Gomez, the Internet quality measurement firm, found that eNorthern, operated by Toronto-based Northern Securities Inc., had moved ahead of four of its competitors to capture second place among online brokers. E*Trade was again rated best overall in the Scorecard. BMO InvestorLine moved up to third from fourth place.

Charles Schwab Canada ranked fifth behind TD Waterhouse. This represents a major change as Charles Schwab was rated second in the inaugural brokers scorecard last fall. TD Waterhouse was in fifth place in the previous rankings. Royal Bank Action Direct slipped from third to sixth position.

TD Bank retained its top-rated overall position in the Internet Banks Scorecard, but lost the first-place rating it had previously held in two of the three customer profile categories. Customer profile categories are used to evaluate sites based on the needs of different types of consumers.

The most significant change in the banks scorecard was that Laurentian Bank moved up from seventh to third place, behind Royal Bank, which retained the second-place standing.

“The changes we have found in our newest scorecards clearly indicate a strong competitive environment, with service providers intent on improving their Internet offerings,” said Don Rolfe, managing director of GomezCanada. “We saw substantial improvements over the past four months, and it appears Canadian banks and brokers are closing the gap with their U.S. counterparts in the online financial services market.”

“Large Canadian financial services organizations could better serve their customers by more closely integrating their online banking and brokerage offerings,” Rolfe added.
-IE Staff