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From banking to insurance, the Web is a great tool for managing money. Here are the 40 top e-finanoe players.

It's not hard to remember a time when personal finance meant little more than a piggy bank and a weekly allowance. Then came that first savings account, a credit card and, before long, a complicated tangle of accounts and financial responsibilities all vying for attention.

The Internet promised to make personal finance simpler. Payments made without

writing checks, insurance purchased without talking to an agent, mortgages approved without visiting a bank -- all in about the time you once spent balancing your checkbook.

To see how that promise is measuring up, we talked to analysts, industry folks and our own in-house experts to determine the key players in the world of e-finance. We identified 40 companies spread across six sectors -- banks, brokerages, insurance, loans, payment and back-end suppliers -- that are moving financial services online with speed and innovation. One trend to note: Many of these companies offer services in more than one category. Their goal is to let you manage all aspects of your finances in one place.

Kind of like reaching for your piggy bank.

BANKING

Bank of America

www.bankofamerica.com

HQ Charlotte, N.C.

EMPLOYEES: 155,906

REVENUES: $54.68 billion (3099 to 2Q00)

CUSTOMERS: 30 million households (for all banking services), 2 million businesses

The No. 1 U.S. bank offers a comprehensive menu of financial services at its Web site, which averages 9 million visits per month from 2.8 million online banking customers.

Citibank

www.citigroup.com

HQ: New York

EMPLOYEES: 180,000

REVENUES: $65.97 billion

CUSTOMERS: 100 million

With nearly 6 million online customers, Citibank is expanding and enhancing every portion of its site. But the Internet incubator division, e-Citi, spent more than $1 billion over the past three years without generating significant returns.

Juniper Bank

www.juniper.com

HQ: Wilmington Del.

EMPLOYEES: 250

REVENUES: Not disclosed

CUSTOMERS: Not disclosed

WingspanBank founders Richard Vague and James Stewart left their first attempt at online banking in late 1999 to start Juniper Bank, which emphasizes customer service, wireless banking and credit cards.

NetBank

www.netbank.com

HQ: Alpharetta, Ga

EMPLOYEES: 100

REVENUES: $8.06 million

CUSTOMERS: 133,000 accounts The first online bank to turn a profit, NetBank has no brick-and-mortar branches. That translates into overhead savings which are passed on to customers in the form of higher interest rates on checking and savings accounts.

Wells Fargo

www.wellsfargo.com

HO: San Francisco

EMPLOYEES: 103,052

REVENUES: $23.34 billion (3Q99 to 2Q00)

CUSTOMERS: 17 million

Increasingly ubiquitous, Wells Fargo is the seventh-largestbank in the U.S. It continues to court online business aggressively with a portal strategy, an online brokerage (WellsTrade) and a full complement of banking services.

WingspanBank.com

www.wingspanbank.com

HO: Wilmington, Del.

EMPLOYEES: 150

REVENUES: Not disclosed

CUSTOMERS: 206,000 accounts

Launched in 1999, this Internet-only bank received initial support from parent company First USA (owned by Bank One). It's since been blamed for contributing to a $500 million dip in Bank One earnings for that year.

BROKERAGES

Ameritrade

www.ameritrade.com

HQ: Omaha, Neb.

EMPLOYEES: 2,379

REVENUES: $584 million

CUSTOMERS: 123 million

Commissions (just $8 per trade) account for two-thirds of revenues, so when trading volume dries up in a market downturn, the bottom line could take a big hit. The much-hyped OnMoney financial aggregator could diversify Ameritrade's revenue stream.

Charles Schwab

www.charlesschwab.com

HQ: San Francisco

EMPLOYEES: 25,000

REVENUES: $6.25 billion

CUSTOMERS: 7.4 million accounts

The original discount trading pioneer, Schwab has captured 4.2 million online accounts -- 18 percent of the online market. Its purchase of U.S. Trust adds more high-net-worth investors to its customer base.

Datek Online

www.datek.com

HQ: Iselin, N.J.

EMPLOYEES: 377

REVENUES: Not disclosed

CUSTOMERS: 623,624

Trades not executed within 60 seconds are commission-free, and customers can trade up to 5,000 shares for under $10. Datek's Island ECN subsidiary, which matches buyers and sellers electronically, initiates one out of every eight Nasdaq trades.

E-Trade

www.etrade.com

HQ: Menlo Park, Calif.

EMPLOYEES: 1,735

REVENUES: $1.94 billion

CUSTOMERS: 2 million

E-Trade accounts for 15 percent of all online trades. The company bought Telebank and created E-Trade Bank to expand its financial services offerings. It plans to start an online financial-advice venture with Ernst & Young.

Fidelity Investments

www.fidelity.com

HQ: Boston

EMPLOYEES: 30,000

REVENUES: $8.85 billion (1Q99 to 4Q99)

CUSTOMERS: 17 million

After stumbling in recent years, Fidelity's revenues grew 41 percent in 1999, and assets under management were up 25 percent. The company spent $1.5 billion in 1999 on technology, and tech workers now outnumber fund managers, analysts and traders 18 to 1.

Merrill Lynch

www.ml.com

HQ: New York

EMPLOYEES: 70,700

REVENUES: $25.9 billion

CUSTOMERS: 6 million households

A latecomer to the online game, Wall Street heavy Merrill Lynch has played catch-up with a vengeance, and the kudos its online brokerage is starting to receive match those of its offline operation.

INSURANCE

Answer Financial

www.answerfinancial.com

HQ: Canoga Park, Calif.

EMPLOYEES: 250

REVENUES: Not disclosed

CUSTOMERS: 13 million

Answer Financial is the parent and holding company for the insurance Answer Center, a matchmaker that connects customers with insurance companies. Customer service is available online or by phone 24 hours a day.

eCoverage

www.ecovereage.com

HQ: San Francisco

EMPLOYEES: 70

REVENUES: Not disclosed

CUSTOMERS: Not disclosed

Ranked No. 1 for usability and customer confidence in Gomez's fall 2000 insurance carrier category, eCoverage lets auto insurance customers in 31 states file claims, check billing histories and update policies entirely online.

Ins Web

www.insweb.com

HQ: Redwood City, Calif.

EMPLOYEES: 297

REVENUES: $25.1 million

CUSTOMERS: 2.4 million

Customers comparison shop for insurance, insurers pay InsWeb for client leads, and those fees constitute 90 percent of its revenues. Not all are willing to pay, though: State Farm canceled its agreement with InsWeb last April.

Progressive

www.progressive.com

HQ: Mayfield Village, Ohio

EMPLOYEES: 18,753

REVENUES: $475.9 million

CUSTOMERS: 8 million

The fourth-largest writer of auto insurance in the United States, Progressive is driven to have a hearty presence online, too. The road looks smooth so far: 15 percent of its business now comes directly from the Web.

Quotesmith.com

www.quotesmith.com

HQ: Darien, III.

EMPLOYEES: 108

REVENUES: $15.8 million

CUSTOMERS: 38,000 paid policies

A $500 cash guarantee on quote accuracy and lowest-term availability from 300 insurance companies, plus no application fee -- no wonder Quotesmith gets one quote request every four seconds. Popular with the financial press, too.

SelectQuote

www.selectquote.com

HQ: San Francisco

EMPLOYEES: Not disclosed

REVENUES: Not disclosed

CUSTOMERS: 300,000 policies

A player in term life insurance since 1985, SelectQuote offers a 10- to 20-day no-risk guarantee on all policies sold through the site. Parent company Zebu sells its back-end insurance-quote software to other insurers.

LENDING

Countrywide Credit Industries

www.countrywide.com

HQ: Calabasas, Calif.

EMPLOYEES: 12,000

REVENUES: $11.07 billion

CUSTOMERS: 2.77 million

Countrywide is the largest residential mortgage lender in the U.S., with a portfolio of $278 billion. A member of the S&P 500 and Forbes 500, Countrywide also dabbles in insurance and transaction processing.

E-Loan

www.eloan.com

HO: Dublin, Calif.

EMPLOYEES: 319

REVENUES: $32.3 million

CUSTOMERS: 36,122 closed loans (1Q00 to 3Q00)

E-Loan purchased CarFinance.com in September 1999 and has partnerships with Yahoo, E-Trade, CBS MarketWatch and more than 70 lenders. Customers like its E-Track service, which gives 24-hour access to loan status info.

Quicken Loans

www.guickenloans.com

HQ: Mountain View, Calif.

EMPLOYEES: 570

REVENUES: $1.1 billion

CUSTOMERS: 9.51 million site visits

Creator of Quicken, the world's most popular personal finance software, Intuit is also the No. 1 online mortgage provider. Partnerships with AOL, Excite@Home and CBS Market Watch will offer new branding opportunities.

Lending Tree

www.lendingtree.com

HQ: Charlotte, N.C.

EMPLOYEES: 125

REVENUES: $24.1 million

CUSTOMERS: 2 million

Individual loan applications are shopped to more than 100 lenders and processed within 48 hours. The best part: Lenders pay all of the fees. The Tree is branching out - its Lend-X software is an industry staple used by Priceline.com, CNBC.com and PNC Bank.