Roosevelt offering biweekly option.

Roosevelt Savings Bank of Garden City, N.Y., is the latest lender to offer mortgages with payments every two weeks rather than once a month.

The biweekly mortgage is an old idea that has been regaining popularity recently. The basic appeal is that the mortgage is paid off more quickly since it involves the equivalent of 13 monthly payments a year rather than 12.

In an example provided by Roosevelt, a borrower could cut the repayment period for a 20-year, 7% no-point loan by three years and save $15,062.

Under the Roosevelt program, mortgage customers have their payments deducted automatically from their accounts, a requirement that reduces the cost of servicing and also brings in some new savings accounts.

Roosevelt has the option of holding the loans or selling them, as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac both buy biweekly mortgages, though on a small scale.

"This kind of mortgage applies to people who want to plan well ahead," said Walter G. Mullins, he said, a young couple with a new baby might want to have their mortgage paid by the time the child starts college.

The automatic-deduction feature is also attractive from the bank's standpoint because it generates some new savings accounts as well. "The more relationships we have with a customer, the better," said Mr. Mullins.

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