Citibank.com, the banking website of Vikram Pandit-led Citigroup, has replaced Bank of America as the best website in the industry, as per a bi-annual scorecard of top banking websites.

Citibank has regained its top position after slipping to the second slot behind Bank of America in the previous rankings released in December 2007, compiled by global mobile and internet performance solutions provider Keynote Systems.

Bank of America has slipped to the second position in the latest rankings released late last night and is followed by Wells Fargo and Chase at third and fourth ranks, respectively.

Both Wachovia and Washington Mutual tied for the fifth place. British banking giant HSBC has been ranked at 22nd position.

Besides the overall top position, Citibank.com has also been ranked first or second for all nine categories and tasks measured, including privacy and security, ease of use, and learning and planning.

The study reviewed the online capabilities of more than 25 financial institutions. Citibank.com has been ranked on the top two of the last three bi-annual scorecards.

Commenting on the recognition, Citibank's North America CEO and Chairman Peter Knitzer said, "We are thrilled to be recognised as number one banking website in the industry."

Keynote said that the scorecard measured customer experience of leading online banking sites against a set of 300 industry standards and best practices, and evaluated them on a variety of customer-specific tasks and categories.

Citibank is part of Citigroup, the world's largest financial services company, with about 200 million customer accounts and is present in more than 100 countries.