On Tuesday (5/16), Citibank raised its e-Savings rate 25 basis points to 4.75%, making it the highest savings rate at a name-brand financial institution. Only Corus Bank in Chicago has a higher APY on BankRate.com today, 4.84% with a $10,000 minimum.

More importantly, Citi continues its massive ad buy touting the rate. It was back on the top of MSN's homepage today, and the bank has bought huge parcels of BankRate.com, with some pages running three Citibank promos, top, bottom and side (see BankRate "Checking & Savings" page right). It's similar to what Emigrant Direct did last year to kick off its direct banking efforts (click here to see past NetBanker articles on deposit marketing).

Analysis
Emigrant Direct, HSBC, ING Direct, and now Citibank are all spending $10+ million per year promoting high rates (see ad spending NetBanker5/17). While high-rate offers are nothing new, the ease of finding rate deals online and transferring the funds means it will be harder to hold onto those high-balance 0.50% checking and savings account balances.

—JB