It's a teller, it's a loan officer, it's - Dennis Rodman?
Not really. But to capitalize on the hype over the Chicago Bulls' run for a fourth National Basketball Association championship, Oxford Bank and Trust has instituted several Bull-related promotions.
The Addison, Ill., bank is offering double interest on certain certificates of deposit if the team clinches the championship. Oxford is also encouraging employees to partake in "Rodman fashion Fridays" and paying some customers who wear Bulls paraphernalia during the playoffs.
A special CD account with a $1,000 minimum has a base interest rate of 5.4% that will double to 10.8% for a month if the Bulls win the championship, said Ginger Gagen, vice president, retail banking at the suburban Chicago bank.
Moreover, every Friday during the playoffs the $200 million-asset, privately held bank's employees will be decked out in Bulls clothing - and will even sport dyed hair, emulating Mr. Rodman.
Last Friday the bank's new president, Bruce Glawe, about a week into the job, happily joined in, donning a Bulls cap and a previous-championship T- shirt over his white dress shirt and tie for the start of the promotion. "I'm a die-hard sports fan," said Mr. Glawe, who recently left Milwaukee- based Firstar Corp..
In addition, the bank will contribute $10 to some new accounts for customers with Bulls clothing or Rodman-like hair, and tellers are passing out wash-off tattoos of various designs.
Other Chicago banks have run similar CD promotions in the past - for instance, with the 1986 Superbowl and the World Cup Soccer tournament.
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Nineteenth-century industrialist George Pullman probably never imagined that he one day would inspire "Cyber-George," the "virtual representative" on the Internet of Chicago's Pullman Bank.
The $270 million-asset bank resurrected its namesake - which refers to a part of town known as Pullman - for its Web site. The site includes historical information on Pullman, an on-line credit application, a personal investment questionnaire, and interest rate information.
The bank dates back to Mr. Pullman's days; it was chartered in 1869. Mr. Pullman invented the modern railroad sleeping car.
