Gomez, Inc., the Internet Quality Measurement firm, today announced the results of its inaugural Gomez Performance Index, a measure of the time it takes retail investors to complete a task at leading online Canadian banks and brokerage firms.

According to the firm, the index provides a means for firms and consumers to put site performance in context, measuring site access and reliability during various times of the day and from assorted access points on the Internet.

“The allure of doing one’s finances online in a timely and convenient fashion are giving rise to the realities that site availability must be a primary focus for banks and brokers if they want customers to conduct their financial affairs online with confidence,” explained Don Rolfe, managing director of Gomez’s Canadian subsidiary.

In fact, a recent GomezCanada study of more than 4,000 online consumers revealed that site availability (77.9%) and access (65.7%) are the most important reasons investors use online financial sites, noted Guy van Rooyen, a GomezCanada senior analyst who conducted the research.

Maintaining a highly available and accessible site is among the key factors that will separate leaders from laggards among the firms offering online financial services. The significant site performance variance detected by GPI will therefore impact the way consumers select and ultimately experience the sites of those institutions with which they conduct business, Rolfe said.

Overall, Royal Bank provided the most reliable and fastest accessibility among the banking sites measured during the GPI test period of 13/08/01 to 27/08/01.

Although other sites performed reasonably well, Royal Bank was up to four times faster than some of its major competitors, according to the index. Among brokerages, Royal Bank Action Direct was the fastest, narrowly edging out Credential Direct, providing a clean sweep for the largest financial institution in Canada.

Gomez developed the GPI to highlight some of the key attributes that consumers value when choosing a firm as well as deciding whether to use the Web, automated voice, or call center channels. “Our position is that the fastest site is not always the leader in providing best of class service, but it is mandatory for firms trying to direct their consumers to the Web for low volume transactions and service inquiries. Poor or inconsistent performance, coupled with a dial-up connection, is not a compelling case for a customer who has the option to call an 800 number for no incremental fee,” said Jeff Banker, vice president of Gomez Performance Network.

Index results are collected from Monday to Friday of each week and posted for each firm bi-weekly on the Gomez Performance Network Web site (http://gpn.gomez.com/public/canadaindex.asp). The GPI is comprised of most major financial services firms in Canada.