Website Comparison for BankingEssay Preview: Website Comparison for BankingReport this essay“Website Comparison for Banking”There is a big difference in nice-looking websites and websites designed to market business effectively. The many similarities and differences when viewing websites help end users determine who to conduct business with. Some of these include the look and feel of each website, the user friendly options, the navigation and accessibility when searching for a particular category or business. In this paper, we have compared and analyzed three different banking websites Washington Mutual, Compass Bank and Bank of America in an effort to summarize their effectiveness and to determine which website in our opinion would draw consumer interests.
Banking and Other Markets in the United States
Introduction
The financial sector is experiencing an exponential growth and economic changes in the United States. In recent years, the financial sector has experienced significant reductions in the supply of mortgage insurance, which many banks have considered to be a liability due to the housing financial crisis and the recent financial crisis. In fact, for the second straight year, the share of insured mortgage loans increased by an average of 17% under President Obama, with over 60% of insured mortgages being backed by private banks. Even though the majority of insured mortgages were in excess of $100M, a number of small businesses have faced mounting stress and loss due to rising debt loads. In recent years, many small businesses have faced more and more debt, resulting in higher costs for the customers; this is especially true among small businesses with a total business size of less than 100 employees.
Recent economic development has made the U.S. one of the richest and freest economies in the world as compared to other developed countries. Government programs have greatly increased the use of credit and helped to reduce the negative credit environment of small businesses. The Federal Reserve has issued a $1 trillion bond to build a new bank in New York City. An article in the Wall Street Journal explains that New York City has the greatest number of banks in the country and is “obviously the richest state” in the United States. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York is one of the largest governmental banks in the continental United States, and the Federal Reserve’s role in lending money to financial institutions in the United States is a central one. Since the Federal Reserve became a part of the Federal Reserve in 1913, it has expanded its role to more than 10 banks, many as large as the Bank of New York. Today, the Federal Reserve has over 2,000 banks in its capital markets and over 400 regional banks of $1 trillion in assets. For reference, the U.S., which has the largest bank population—nearly twice the size of New York—requires about 12 million U.S. households to have credit. Most Americans have credit card debts—that’s roughly $50,000 to $75,000 a year that would need to be paid back to their current employer and a monthly income of $1,500.
However, even though the credit quality of our nation’s banks differs from that of most other developed countries, most Americans are still able to work. Many Americans still have a job, while others have to worry about health insurance, student loan payments and rent. The unemployment rate in some part of the country remains in the region of 9% compared to the national average of 8%. This means that some households have no job security and have not earned the income necessary to support those earning more than $250,000. Similarly, about 45% of all low-income American households lack health insurance.
Americans now have higher student loan debt and larger student loan debt than ever before. Even though the federal government has made the federal student loan debt mandatory for many institutions—more than the federal government alone—many banks still do not have credit facility agreements. Some universities
Banking and Other Markets in the United States
Introduction
The financial sector is experiencing an exponential growth and economic changes in the United States. In recent years, the financial sector has experienced significant reductions in the supply of mortgage insurance, which many banks have considered to be a liability due to the housing financial crisis and the recent financial crisis. In fact, for the second straight year, the share of insured mortgage loans increased by an average of 17% under President Obama, with over 60% of insured mortgages being backed by private banks. Even though the majority of insured mortgages were in excess of $100M, a number of small businesses have faced mounting stress and loss due to rising debt loads. In recent years, many small businesses have faced more and more debt, resulting in higher costs for the customers; this is especially true among small businesses with a total business size of less than 100 employees.
Recent economic development has made the U.S. one of the richest and freest economies in the world as compared to other developed countries. Government programs have greatly increased the use of credit and helped to reduce the negative credit environment of small businesses. The Federal Reserve has issued a $1 trillion bond to build a new bank in New York City. An article in the Wall Street Journal explains that New York City has the greatest number of banks in the country and is “obviously the richest state” in the United States. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York is one of the largest governmental banks in the continental United States, and the Federal Reserve’s role in lending money to financial institutions in the United States is a central one. Since the Federal Reserve became a part of the Federal Reserve in 1913, it has expanded its role to more than 10 banks, many as large as the Bank of New York. Today, the Federal Reserve has over 2,000 banks in its capital markets and over 400 regional banks of $1 trillion in assets. For reference, the U.S., which has the largest bank population—nearly twice the size of New York—requires about 12 million U.S. households to have credit. Most Americans have credit card debts—that’s roughly $50,000 to $75,000 a year that would need to be paid back to their current employer and a monthly income of $1,500.
However, even though the credit quality of our nation’s banks differs from that of most other developed countries, most Americans are still able to work. Many Americans still have a job, while others have to worry about health insurance, student loan payments and rent. The unemployment rate in some part of the country remains in the region of 9% compared to the national average of 8%. This means that some households have no job security and have not earned the income necessary to support those earning more than $250,000. Similarly, about 45% of all low-income American households lack health insurance.
Americans now have higher student loan debt and larger student loan debt than ever before. Even though the federal government has made the federal student loan debt mandatory for many institutions—more than the federal government alone—many banks still do not have credit facility agreements. Some universities
Washington MutualWhen evaluating Washington Mutuals website, there was one feature that stood out more than the websites for Compass Bank and Bank of America; their advertisement for Free Online Banking. This is centrally located on the web page because it is in a bright color and is toward the top of the page which is eye catching to the viewer (WAMU, 2005). Many people today choose to do banking on-line to not only save money on checks and stamps, but it is also less time-consuming. By offering this service for free, Washington Mutual has more chances to gain new customers than other banks, which may currently charge for on-line banking. For those existing customers, the login screen to obtain account information is fairly accessible. It is located on the top right hand corner of the web page and also gives the chance for the user to inquire on the password in case they have forgotten it (WAMU, 2005).
Even though Washington Mutual does have a couple of features that stand out in comparison to the other two banks, we believe that their website could be more user friendly if there was not so much information crowded together which makes it harder to read. They do have access to pertinent information for those trying to locate specific information such as home loans or location information, but it does not stand out and it is not eye catching for the end user. This may deter someone from opening an account with Washington Mutual simply because of the setup of the web page. Pictures and icons are very important for websites because they can catch the viewers attention and it also makes their browsing experience a better one. People want to access their bank information or any other banking needs as fast as possible. Therefore, because of the way Washington Mutual has chosen to set up its website, it may take the end user a little longer to familiarize themselves unlike that of Compass Bank or Bank of America.
Compass BankWhen accessing the Compass Bank website, the colors jump off the page to get your attention and the search box is located at the top left hand corner for easy access (CB, 2005). Immediately, we could see the appeal to consumers for saving money by free offers and comparisons with competitors fees. Special offers also filled the homepage. The Economic Facts and Commentary section was interesting and gave great tips for cost cutting on recent gas prices (CB, 2005). Another feature that stands out on this website in comparison to that of Washington Mutual and Bank of America is the easy access to Prime Home Equity Rates which can be very helpful to those who may be interested in doing some home improvement work (CB, 2005).
The appeal to educating consumers on small business needs and investments was also interesting and drew attention. People want to know how to make businesses grow and how to get the most out of homeownership value while partnering up with their financial institutions; Compass Bank gives free guidance and assistance in this area. It is a known fact that web pages have dual content and purpose as indicated within the Compass site. The first and most obvious purpose is to provide the basic function of giving customers the information, or opportunity to search for information and answers to questions. The second function of their websites is to connect with customers on a more personable level. They accomplish this by appealing to a customers sensitivity (CB, 2005). In these cases, those appeals are conveyed by simply providing what may be information that a person in desperate need of a bank or ATM must have.
Bank of AmericaBank of Americas red, white and blue website reflects a patriot presence that