WATERBURY, Conn., September 5, 2012 – Webster Bank, a leading bank serving businesses and consumers from Westchester County, N.Y. to Boston, Mass., is winning praise for adopting disclosure forms that make account terms and fees more transparent and easier for customers to understand.
Back in May, Webster unveiled its new four-page disclosure that reflects the recommendations from the Pew Safe Checking in the Electronic Age Project. Research shows that the median length of bank disclosures for checking accounts is more than 100 pages which often go unread. Webster’s form is four pages.
“We at Webster appreciate the positive feedback and response. We have adopted this straightforward language and statement format for all of our consumer and small business products,” said Michelle Crecca, executive vice president and chief marketing officer at Webster. “We also took this a step further and expanded the ‘best practice format’ so that customers can see all of our products lined up side-by-side. We believe this is a more convenient format that will help our customers better understand how our products work and allow them to make sound financial decisions. This demonstrates yet another step Webster has taken to provide superior customer service and value.”
Among those commending Webster include Pew and members of Congress who give high praise for choosing “to be upfront and honest” with customers.
Webster Financial Corporation is the holding company for Webster Bank, National Association. With $19 billion in assets, Webster provides business and consumer banking, mortgage, financial planning, trust and investment services through 167 banking offices; 464 ATMs, 290 of which are owned by Webster and 174 of which are branded; telephone banking; mobile banking; and the Internet. Webster Bank owns the asset based lending firm Webster Business Credit Corporation; the equipment finance firm Webster Capital Finance Corporation; and provides health savings account trustee and administrative services through HSA Bank, a division of Webster Bank. Member FDIC and equal housing lender. For more information about Webster, including past press releases and the latest annual report, visit the Webster website at www.websterbank.com.
Media Contact:
Sarah Barr, 203-578-2287
sbarr@websterbank.com
Investor Contact:
Terry Mangan, 203-578-2318
tmangan@websterbank.com