In my annual look at holiday offerings from major banks, I found that Scrooge still roams the halls at many of the big names. Only eight of the 20 largest U.S. banks are using holiday-themed promotions or graphics (note 1). That’s one more than last year, but still two less than 2010.
As usual, PNC Bank is the exception with their two-decade long holiday CPI (Christmas present index). BB&T, Comerica and Fifth Third are also festive this year with gift card promotions supported by seasonal graphics. And US Bank, Citi, Key and Regions Bank used some holiday imagery.
The scrooge list: top-20 banks with no holiday promotions or graphics on Dec. 20):
Bank of America, Bank of the West (BNP Paribas), Capital One, Chase, Citizens (RBS), Harris Bank (BMO), HSBC, ING Direct (Capital One), SunTrust, TD Bank, Union Bank (Mitsubishi UFJ), Wells Fargo
Following is a quick overview of the promotions, including a 1-to 5-bulb rating.
Previous year-end holiday posts: 2011 (big banks), 2011 (CUs/community banks), 2009 part 1, 2009 part 2, 2007, 2006, 2006, 2004
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Big banks in the holiday spirit
(rated 1 to 5 bulbs; screenshots from Thursday, Dec 20)
PNC Bank
- Gift Hunt tied to its Christmas CPI (based on the song 12 Days of Christmas)
- Visa Gift Card promo (in rotation of four homepage promotions)
Score: 
Hompage: PNC is leading with its 12 days of Christmas price index
PNC Bank microsite with gift hunt link
Also running gift card promo in rotation
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BB&T (20 Dec 2012)
- Holiday themed graphic featuring mobile check deposit
- Small ad for gift cards
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Fifth Third
- Rotation of three holiday themed promotions
— Holiday billpay sweeps
— New Years savings pro
mo
— Gift cards
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Comerica
- Prominent gift card promo across page and in lower-left corner
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Key Bank
- Holiday graphic, but no product promotion
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Citibank
- Toy shopping background image
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US Bank
- Pitch for online banking, convenient while shopping
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Regions Bank
- Small saving money tips
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Notes:
1. Observations taken between 2pm and 3pm Pacific on Thurs Dec 20 from Seattle IP address, Chrome browser with no cookies
2. Animation from http://www.millan.net/anims/christmas.html#