Banks and sites were first invited to take part in the third annual internet awards in July 2002. Euromoney approached those firms that had taken part before plus those that had expressed an interest in taking part over the past year and those that Euromoney journalists felt would like to be involved. Any bank or site was welcome to submit sites for consideration but we did ask potential participants to read the awards articles from previous years and consider whether their sites had a good chance of winning before they put themselves forward. Participants confirmed the sites they were submitting by mid-August.
For the purpose of these awards, Euromoney considered only websites - anything that is web-based or web-enabled. We did not assess private networks.
The best sites in each category were selected according to whether they offered the best functionality and strategy of their peers. This was assessed during site demonstrations.
Key features that we looked for include:
Does the site work?
Is it reliable?
Do clients use it?
Does it increase the speed/efficiency of its core business?
Does it offer functionality that other sites lack?
Is it a good strategic fit with the business it serves?
Categories such as "Best bank for online fixed income/equity" were decided according to which bank offered the best range of sites in that asset class.