Bank websites shun the credit crunch

As if they needed more problems, the UK's beleaguered banks and financers have emerged with some of the worst websites out of Britain's top 100 companies.



Researchers for Investis found little industry perspective available through lenders' websites and slow response to crisis after probing 200 criteria per portal.



They said that despite the "volatile" markets, finance had done little this year to keep its non-customer stakeholders up-to-date with developments through its websites.



Nine financial groups, including banks, insurers and investors, scored between a low of 29% and 50% for e-effectiveness, for factors such as user experience, interactivity and multimedia.



RBS's website, ranked 6th, led the banks and scored 67% overall, partly due to its 'Economic Insight' content, designed to help inform its online audience of the financial upheaval.



Lloyds TSB floundered in comparison, being in the worst 10 sites run by FTSE100 firms, scoring just 34% for effectiveness, better though than investor group Alliance Trust (95th).



Life insurance giant Aviva topped the poll and scored highly in all 11 categories, winning praise for allowing personalised tools and making the site compatible with Blackberries.



Food retail was the top sector, led by J Sainsbury (4th), while mining performed the worst, with four of the ten FTSE mining firms appearing in the bottom ten ranks. Anglo American (3rd) defied the trend.



Investis said the volatile markets mean it is now more important than ever before for firms to establish their sites as the "go-to authority" for information on their business and industry.