European banks, desperate for cash to fill vaults emptied by the credit crunch, are falling over each other to attract cash from depositors.

In Spain, the Banesto bank offers a deposit account "on wheels". Instead of giving interest for deposits of between €18,000 (S$35,891) and €160,000 over 24 to 36 months, it is offering anything from a scooter to a hatchback car.

And Madrid-based savings bank Caja Madrid said it is offering the most aggressive product on the market: an account paying 6.5 per cent for 12 months, aimed at "capturing the money" of other banks or "the client's new savings".

The Portuguese are also showing some ingenuity in devising new products to attract clients.

The Best bank is offering the McCain-Obama deposit. Interest rates will depend on the outcome of next month's United States presidential election. The client gives his forecast - if it is correct, the account pays 8 per cent; if it is wrong, only 2 per cent.

Competitor BPI is offering investors a chance to "take advantage of the fall in the market in Great Britain". If the London stock exchange loses more than 20 per cent by end March 2010, the bank will pay an annual rate of 10 per cent.

In Denmark, they prefer auctions. The Mybanker.bz website allows individuals to offer their savings to banks that compete to offer the most attractive rates. Last Wednesday, with the stock exchange bathed in the red, the site saw a record 250 million Danish kroners (S$67 million) auctioned on a single day, with some banks offering a return of up to 7 per cent.

Dutch bank ABN Amro advertised "a rate of 5.2 per cent in total safety", shortly after it was rescued by the government.

Dutch Finance Minister Wouter Bos, however, did not greatly appreciate the publicity.

He criticised the bank, whose future had been in the balance some days earlier, for indulging in "unfair competition".
Poland's Nordea bank is offering an annual rate of up to 10 per cent for term deposits. But it is limited to deposits of up to 10,000 zlotys (S$5,702) and the rate is applicable only for three months. Most other Polish banks are offering about 8 per cent.

In Britain, Indian bank Icici is taking in unlimited deposits for up to three years with a maximum rate of 7.2 per cent and has been deemed "Best Buy" this month by the Moneyfacts website.

In France, the best deal on a current account comes from British bank Barclays - offering 10 per cent - but conditional on a service fee of between €9 and €15, as well as the spending of at least €750 a month with its Barclays credit card.

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