BANKDIRECT RECEIVES BANKRATE.COM TOP TIER AWARD
DALLAS (May 15, 2000) - BankDirect, the nation's fastest growing online bank (www.bankdirect.com),
today announced it has received a Top Tier award from bankrate.com, (www.bankrate.com),
the flagship site of ilife.com (NASDAQ: ILIF), a leading source of independent
and objective information for consumers about bank and credit products.
The bankrate.com Top Tier award assists individual consumers in identifying
those institutions that consistently offer high yields on their FDIC-insured
deposit products. BankDirect was awarded for consistently offering annual
percentage yields that were among the highest reported for the first quarter of
2000 in the bankrate.com newsletter 100 Highest Yields. BankDirect achieved a
"top 3" ranking in the category of Money Market Account, in which they were
ranked #1, and 6-Month Certificate of Deposit, in which they were ranked #3.
"We are always striving to provide our customers with the best banking options
available on the market," said Joseph M. "Jody" Grant, Chairman and CEO of
BankDirect. "BankDirect is proud to have been identified as a leader in the
financial services industry."
"As the consumer watchdog for the banking industry, bankrate.com determines
which institutions offer the best in banking opportunities," said Karen E.
Christie, Vice President of Research and Editorial Services for bankrate.com.
"We will continue to observe and report on online banks such as BankDirect.com
and the product and services they have to offer. A complete listing of the
first quarter recipients is posted on the bankrate.com Web site."
About Bankrate.com Bankrate.com provides consumers with financial data,
research and editorial information on non-investment financial products. A
large research team surveys some 4,000 financial institutions every week in
order to provide objective rate information on banking products including
mortgages, credit cards and auto loans. Bankrate.com is unique in its approach
to offering objective rate information on 130 markets in all 50 states and
Puerto Rico.
About ilife.com Based in North Palm Beach, Fla., ilife.com (NASDAQ: ILIF)
is an industry leader in providing and syndicating personal finance
infrastructure for the online consumer public through a broad portfolio of
demographically targeted Web sites, print publications and broadcast segments.
The company's leading personal finance site, bankrate.com, features original
content that deals with financial planning, taxes, insurance, investing and
banking. Our gateway site, www.ilife.com serves as an introduction to
ilife.com's family of Web sites, including the award-winning bankrate.com,
Pivot.com (insurance e-commerce - www.pivot.com), theWhiz.com (planning content
- www.thewhiz.com), IntelligentTaxes.com (tax planning -
www.intelligenttaxes.com), Consejero.com, (Spanish-language personal finance -
www.consejero.com) CPNet.com (college lifestyle - www.cpnet.com) and
GreenMagazine.com (investing - www.greenmagazine.com). Content from ilife.com
is published on co-branded Internet sites through more than 120 distributors,
including Snap (NASDAQ: NBCI), Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO), America Online (NYSE:
AOL), CNN and Smart Money. The company's original research is also distributed
through more than 120 national and state publications. Ilife.com sites have
approximately one million unique visitors per month, according to Media Metrix.
About BankDirect BankDirect is redefining value in personal finance by
leveraging the power of the Internet to provide convenient, competitive banking
products and responsive service. BankDirect provides no-fee, high interest
checking, money market accounts and CDs, as well as free bill-pay service to
customers around the nation. In addition, BankDirect has partnered with
American Airlines to become the first Internet-based bank to offer mileage
opportunities to its AAdvantage members. Launched in May 1999, BankDirect is
the national Internet banking division of Texas Capital Bank. Texas Capital
Bank is privately owned and operated by the holding company, Texas Capital
Bancshares, Inc., which was founded in December 1998 with the largest start up
capitalization in U.S. banking history.
Contact Information:
Rose Hultgren
BankDirect
214-932-6690
Karen Christie
BankRate.com
karenc@mail.bankrate.com
800-327-7717
Paula Sirois
ilife.com
paulas@ilife.com
561-630-2279