Park Bank Rates & Review

Park Bank Review

Founded in 1966, Park Bank operates several offices in and around Madison, Wisconsin. Today (2010), it offers a comprehensive selection of business and consumer banking services, as well as mortgages.

Park Bank (officially The Park Bank, and not to be confused with two other Wisconsin banks of that name) was named after South Park Street, Madison, the location -- then as now -- of its first office. By 2010, it had built up a network of 11 branches in and around the city, and was referring to itself as "Madison's longest serving community bank". It has over 600 ATMs statewide.

At the end of 2008, Park Bank had total assets of $817.8 million, and employed about 170 people.

Bank activities

The bank focuses on three main areas of activity:

1. Personal banking -- home equity lines of credit, credit cards and investment services, checking accounts and savings products
2. Business banking -- business accounts and credit cards, funds management, commercial loans
3. Mortgages -- lot, construction, condo and bridge loans, fixed-rate and adjustable-rate mortgages

Consumer products

The bank has four different checking accounts, three of which pay interest. One is reserved for those over 50 years of age, and another claims to pay rates more usually associated with a money market account. The checking account that doesn't pay interest has no monthly maintenance fees, and no minimum balance requirements.

There are five savings accounts, including a money market account, and another that's designed for those under 18 years old. In addition, there is an HSA.

Park Bank has traditional CD and IRA products that offer some of its best bank rates, but also offers Certificate of Deposit Account Registry Service (CDARS) CDs, which provide FDIC protection for deposits of up to $50 million by distributing them among multiple banks under one account.

Deposit insurance

The Park Bank has been insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation since 1966, the year of the bank's establishment. FDIC coverage for eligible deposits was permanently increased from $100,000 to $250,000 per depositor in July 2010. Joint accounts are insured by FDIC up to at least $250,000 per account holder.

Compare savings account interest rates from Park Bank and hundreds of other banks and credit unions at SavingsAccounts.com.