Also claims the 4th spot with their Internet Checking Account

The results are in, and once again Internet banks overwhelmed the competition, taking 18 of the top 20 spots in Bankrates.com's 2001 list of the best checking accounts in the country. By offering the average customer the chance to actually make money off their checking balances, Internet banks far out distanced their offline competitors. Top honors went to Presidential Online Bank, whose Internet Checking Plus account would earn a typical customer $75 a year.

"We designed it to try to give top value to consumers and encourage them to make us their primary bank," says Bruce Cleveland, Presidential's Chief Executive Officer. "Our philosophy is if someone is willing to make us their primary bank, then we want to compensate them well for doing that."

In addition to the top honors that Presidential Bank's Internet Checking Plus garnered, the banks Internet Checking account was rated as the fourth best checking account.

To read the full article, go to http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/chk/20010329e.asp

To see the chart of the top 20 Checking Accounts, go to http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/chk/20010329y.asp