Said to pay “higher, more competitive interest rates" on large deposits. The Business Bank of Nevada has launched a new money-market account in an attempt to woo more high-net-worth depositors. The bank’s “Primetime Money Market” account is tied to the prime lending rate and boasts “higher, more competitive” interest rates on larger deposits.

John Guedry, Business Bank’s president and CEO, calls the new account “an innovative deposit product that will offer higher net worth individuals and business owners greater returns on their deposits” because depositors get more every time the prime rate goes up. “Even in a falling interest rate environment, this product will still provide customers with higher returns than most traditional money market accounts,” says Guedry.

As a tiered deposit product, the Primetime account calculates interest based on minimum daily collected balances and a formulation relative to the prime lending rate. Depositors with a minimum balance of $1 million get an annual percentage yield of 3.96% as of date, or 50% of the prime. Customers with a balance of $500,000 will gain an annual percentage yield of 3.15%, or 40% of the prime, and so on.

Las Vegas-based Business Bank had $449.7 million in total assets at the end of 2005. It has three branches in Las Vegas, one in North Las Vegas, and each in Reno, Carson City and Minden. –FWR

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