European banks, desperate for cash to fill vaults emptied by the credit crunch, are falling over each other to attract cash from depositors.
In Spain the Banesto bank is offering a deposit account "on wheels." No interest: but for a deposit of between $24,000 to 215,000 over 24 to 36 months the investor will collect anything from a scooter to a hatchback car.
The Madrid-based savings bank Caja Madrid claims it is offering "the most aggressive product on the market": an account paying 6.5 per cent for 12 months, aimed at "capturing the money" of other banks or "the client's new savings."
The Portuguese are showing some ingenuity in devising new products to attract clients. The Best bank is offering the "McCain-Obama" deposit. Interest rates will depend on the outcome of next month's US presidential election. The client gives his forecast -- if it is correct the account pays eight per cent, if it is wrong only two percent.
Competitor BPI has been offering investors a chance to "take advantage of the fall in the market in Great Britain." If the London stock exchange loses more than 20 per cent by the end of March 2010 the bank will pay an annual rate of 10 per cent.
In Denmark they prefer auctions. The Mybanker.Bz website allows individuals to offer their savings to banks that compete to offer the most attractive rates. On October 8, with the stock exchange bathed in the red, the site recorded a record of $45 million auctioned on a single day with some banks offering a return of up to seven per cent.