Spoilt for choice at NatWest's site

In a recent survey of the top 100 financial websites by Retail Finance Strategies, NatWest came fourth - and top among the high street banks.

What's the address?

www.natwest.co.uk

What products are on offer?

Everything to do with personal, small business and big corporate banking, and a range of products from NatWest-owned compnies such as Coutts, Lombard, Ulster Bank and NatWest Offshore.

Online banking and share-dealing facilities are also available.

User friendliness

The homepage display offers a choice of personal, small business or corporate banking. Once you've made your selection, you are given relevant options. This site is easy to navigate with links back, and to, other areas of the site prominently displayed.

Positive aspects

The extensiveness of the site is impressive. The application forms are straightforward although applying for the online banking service can take around 20 minutes, so be ready to spend some time on the site. There are calculators to assist working out mortgage, personal loan, currency and air miles figures.

Negative aspects

The most frustrating aspect is that you have to scroll across the page to read all the information. This affects the ability to print data out since part of every line is missing. Unlike many financial websites, it does not link to anything other than NatWest- related products. Nor are there many extra benefits for using the online service, unlike Egg for example, which has its own shopping site where customers can enjoy 2 per cent cashback on anything they buy.

Overall impressions

Everything available from NatWest can be accessed. The wide choice of available products and services highlights just how limited many other financial sites are.