The new online brokerage site features a mutual fund centre that includes Morningstar ratings along with comprehensive fund profiles and improved screening and comparison tools.

The site also provides customers with single sign-on access to banking and brokerage accounts. Customers can transfer funds between brokerage and banking accounts and configure their online overview page to display specific market data and account information.

Rachel Perkel of Wells Fargo Investments, says the new service provides customers with "access to an easy-to-use and seamlessly integrated site that links both banking and brokerage services".

Wells Fargo has also introduced a new online portal for use by financial consultants and private client advisors. The bank says the new portal enables multiple specialists and bankers to collaborate in servicing customers with complex money management and investment concerns.

To improve service for private clients, the bank implemented a service-oriented architecture (SOA) on the BEA WebLogic Platform which links all existing data sources and applications related to sales and customer support and delivers them to bank staff via a unified portal.

Financial consultants and private client advisors will now be able to access a record of client contact with other specialists, allowing them to provide more customised and integrated service and advice to clients with multiple account relationships.

The US bank has also developed an internal portal application that provides staff with a consolidated view of customers. The desktop is organised to mirror a customer's typical call, which streamlines processes and improves access to applications and information.