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Financial firms offer prime rates when their sports team wins

Financial firms offer prime rates when their sports team wins

Posted March. 31, 2015 23:19,   

한국어

An office worker who used to be indifferent to volleyball has become a huge fan for the Ansan OK Savings Bank Rush & Cash, a professional volleyball team. He even got excited when the team beat the Daejeon Samsung Fire Bluefangs in the champion league unexpectedly, leaving only one game before winning the championship title.

The following will explain why. He deposited his money in the “Spike OK Installment Deposit” of OK Savings Bank in the beginning of this year. The deposit offers a basic interest rate of 3.8 percent per annum. If its volleyball team advances to playoff, it offers an additional 0.5 percentage point. If the team wins the championship title, it adds 0.5 percent point. Then, clients can claim up to 5.6 percent. It is a “jackpot product” given that the average interest rate of term deposits is around two percent. The deposit product attracted around 150 billion won (135.6 million US dollars) from 10,436 customers for three months.

“It created over 10,000 fans. It may put financial pressure on the company because of better-than-expected results, but it is effective in promoting the company and enhancing its image,” said a source from the volleyball team.

In November last year, Woori Bank also sold the “Grand Woori Hansae Term Deposit,” which offers an additional interest rate depending on the result of its basketball team. The Chuncheon Woori Bank Hansae won the champion title three times in the Women’s Korean Basketball League. The product was sold out in less than 15 days after attracting 300 billion won (271 million dollars) with 12,000 accounts. As the bank’s team claimed victory, clients who opened the term deposit will receive a 2.4 percent interest rate -- a basic interest rate of 2.20 percent per annum plus 0.1 percentage point for winning the regular season title and 0.1 percentage point for winning both the regular season title and the championship title.