For Women Only

PNC Bank Corp., which is gearing efforts towards attracting the feminine market, recently announced an agreement whereby it will be the exclusive sponsor of banking products to be offered by a virtual village.

The village, iVillage Inc., bills itself as the largest collective of women gathered in one place, and it offers everything from advice on careers to cooking recipes. PNC will provide users a banking center through which visitors can get 15-second on-line consumer loans decisions as well as other consumer and small business banking products. One of the ways it will accomplish that is through an alliance with The Lending Tree, an online loan marketplace attached to a network of lenders.

More Prizes for Bank Web Sites
Banks continue to win awards for their Web sites. Two California banks received recognition in a contest sponsored by AT&T and the National Association of Manufacturers.

Santa Barbara Bank & Trust, Santa Barbara, received a top honor in that contest. It was named winner in the Outstanding Mid-Market Business Web Site Awards, competing against 500 mid-size community banks.Fallbrook National Bank, a small bank in the San Diego area, was named a finalist in the Outstanding Web Site Awards for community banks under $2.5 billion in assets. There were 30 finalists in the more than 2,500 companies entered.

To see the sites, access www.sbbt.com and www.fallbrooknationalbank.com.

Copyright © 2000 Bankers' Hotline. Originally appeared in Bankers' Hotline, Vol. 10, No. 2, 2/00