What ever happened to those premiums that savings institutions used to give for qualifying deposits?
Back when we were graduate students, and then up until the savings & loan crisis of the 1980s (and into the 90’s), local S&Ls would give “gifts” when you made a deposit. We used to pore over the available premiums and then spread savings around as much as possible to get those coffee mugs, bowls, small appliances, etc., etc.
Here’s a 1974 advertisement from American Savings, displaying all the different options available. Click on the image to see a larger version.
These just disappeared as a business gimmick. Did the become illegal? Not a big issue here…I’m just trying to fill in a blank in my memory.
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S&L’s weren’t allowed to compete on interest rates at the time, so competed with toaster ovens. After more deregulation, the competition moved to interest rates.
Those too were the days of 5-7% interest on savings accounts.
And it was a big PIA for the S&Ls to fulfill, increased customer acquisition costs, and actually hurt long-term loyalty. Folks would transfer funds between S&Ls every few months to get a new rice cooker and such.
I worked for a summer way back for First Federal, before it was swallowed up by Bank of Hawaii.
It took a small team to source, store, and distribute these items. I even remember First Federal getting threatened with a lawsuit over a faulty appliance that caused a kitchen fire.