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Building a Complete Personal Account Portfolio

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When considering your personal banking relationship, it’s important to ensure, fundamentally, your financial picture is comprehensive; adept in both your short-term and long-term objectives and nimble enough to meet your evolving financial needs.

Let’s discuss your personal banking relationship. These are the core products that make up your personal banking portfolio—Checking Accounts, Savings Accounts, Certificates of Deposit (CD), and Money Market Accounts. Though important to financial balance, we will not be discussing investments or the Individual Retirement Arrangement (IRA). Just the basics, please.

If you are just establishing your financial footings, you might want to begin with a checking and savings account. At Great Western Bank we offer a full line-up of Checking Accounts designed to meet the needs of our customers. We offer accounts with no service fees, low service fees, and accounts that draw interest. Like peanut butter and jelly, our checking accounts offer a complementary sidekick…the savings account.

At Great Western Bank we make saving easy, whether it be for an unexpected expense or for a dream vacation, our Basic Savings Account requires no minimum balance and has no monthly fees.

What happens when your savings balance grows, you still want access to your money, and you desire a premium interest rate? The Money Market Account proves to be an attractive option. Our Great Western Bank Money Market account offers a premium interest rate and easy access to your savings.

Features include:

• Attractive interest rates
• Fully liquid, easy access to funds
• $1,000 minimum deposit to open
• No monthly fee if balance remains above $1,000 (nominal $10 fee otherwise)
• Six free withdrawals per month ($5 per additional withdrawal)
• Unlimited withdrawals when made in person at a branch
• Higher interest rates for higher balances
• Interest paid monthly

If you are in a financial position where you require less liquidity and are seeking a solid investment, you may be suited for a Certificate of Deposit (CD). Our CDs are guaranteed, with terms anywhere from one week to five years, and require only a $500 minimum opening deposit. Often the rate of return on a CD is higher than that of your savings account. However, funds are locked into the term of the CD.

To potentially garner the highest interest rate on your monies and yet, create accessibility, you can work with your Great Western Bank banker on CD laddering. What is CD laddering? Instead of opening one large CD, you open CDs with lesser balances and stagger the terms.

Here is a hypothetical example, you put $2,000 in a 12-month CD at 1.4% APY; $2,000 in a 24-month CD at 1.6% APY; and $2,000 in a 36-month CD at 2.0% APY. With interest annualized, at the end of three years, your balance using CD laddering will be $6,338.15 and a portion of that will be liquid. Using a single short-term rollover CD, your balance will be $6,255.55 and be entirely liquid. You will have earned $82.60 more using CD Laddering. This allows regular intervals of access to your money, all the while, allowing you to earn the most interest. Being nimble with your funds allows greater advantage should there be an emergency or should interest rates increase.

To learn more about the products and services discussed or to take advantage of our CD and Money Market rates, please see your local banker, call us at 1.800.952.2043, or further explore our website.

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