Bank offers 'McCain/Obama' deal
2008-10-06 20:06
Lisbon - A Portuguese online bank unveiled
a novel interest rate deal on Monday by letting clients bet on
the outcome of the US presidential election.
Banco Best's customers will be awarded interest on their
60-day deposits on the basis of whether they bet correctly on
the winner of the November 4 US election between Barack Obama
and John McCain, the bank said in a statement.
If they pick the winner, they will be rewarded with interest
of 8%, applied retroactively from November 4 to the day they
opened the account.
If their bet is wrong, they will get just 2% interest.
Banco Best will offer up to €10m of the
so-called McCain/Obama Deposit, which can be subscribed to
online (www.bancobest.pt) at any time until November 3.
The bank said it will also provide an online barometer of
deposit holders' expectations of the election result.
The offer came as several European governments rushed to
guarantee bank deposits after a spate of bank failures linked to
the global credit crunch.
- Reuters