Online competition continues to heat up as the major banks begin offering 4% APY specials just in time for the holidays, and those year-end bonuses. Today, four of the top 20 U.S. consumer banks are offering specials of 4% or higher on their homepages:

Citibank (2nd largest U.S. deposit base) is the biggest player to crack the 4% mark with a nine-month certificate aggressively promoted on its homepage with a page-dominating animated banner and hawked in one of the bank's four postage-stamp ads running along the bottom (click on inset for a screenshot).

Note also the large Red Cross donation banner (bottom) supporting fund-raising for South Asia earthquake relief.

An email advertising the 4% CD was sent to customers 21 Oct. 2005. It was identical to one sent 1 July 2005, except the rate was 3.45% at that time (click on screenshot right).

Other Top-20 Bank Specials
Three other top-20 banks also offer 4% or higher deposit specials on their homepages:

• HSBC (10th largest), which has marketed a high-rate savings account for much of the year (NetBanker, Aug. 26), increased the emphasis with a huge front-and-center ad on its homepage, a red piggy-bank with 4% in it (click on screenshot right).
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• National City (11th largest) has raised the bar even higher with a 4.75% Thanksgiving Special, a 14-month CD that requires a National City checking account ($1500 minimum opening deposit) and at least $10,000 (click on screenshot right). Here's the fine print:
  

  To qualify for this offer, depositor must have an existing National City personal checking account or open a Preferred Interest Checking account with $1500. Annual Percentage Yield is available from 11/21/05 through 11/30/05. Maximum deposit limit $250,000. Offer only available for consumer deposits.

• World Savings (#17) has a lower-key link to a 4.16% 4-month Internet Special CD (click on screenshot right). The rate is good for $10,000 to $250,000 and must be opened with "new money" (from outside the bank).

--JB