‘Banks don’t slow down on trying to attract private individuals’ investments in the summertime. Their ad campaigns are just as proactive, new interest rates and deposit terms are offered all the time. At the same time, there is usually a certain seasonal standstill on the savings market in the summer, as people spend their money on vacations, on buying and building summerhouses, and on repairs and decoration,’ says Ural Treasures Bank’s Marketing Director Alexander Nistranskiy.

Alexander Nistranskiy reports bank deposits are a traditional way of attracting people’s investments.

‘Banks tend to offer period-sensible interest rates on deposits lately. The ads normally only indicate the interest offered for the last period, as it is usually much higher than the market’s average. This is why we recommend that a customer finds out what the effective interest rate is first, as fixed interest rate deposits are often more profitable that the period-sensible interest ones,’ he notes.

Ural Treasures Bank opened up a new range of deposit offers on June 2, 2008: Universal, Savings, Retiree, Elite, Elite Plus, and Classic deposit schemes. The terms of these deposits are based on the customers’ general preferences.

‘Ural Treasures Bank was one of Sverdlovsk Region’s first banks to come up with stimulating special offers, and this summer we are offering our customers the following:

- Deposit + gift: every customer who opens a deposit (except for Savings one) and deposits at least 60,000 RUR, $2,500, or ?1,500 for at least 180 days gets a radio/CD player;

-Vacation Season: all customers who place at least 100,000 RUR, $4,000, or ?3,000 with the bank for at least 1 year take part in the prize-winning lottery in September, the main prize being a family holiday.

-Lucky Days: increased interest rates are offered on this or that type of deposit.

I feel these are some of the best offers on the bank deposit market,’ Nistranskiy observes.