Hong Kong's ZA Bank offers 6% introductory rate for deposits: report

The virtual bank’s rate is said to have outpaced the big traditional players’ offers.

ZA Bank, one of eight firms preparing to start a virtual bank in Hong Kong, offers a 6% rate for three-month Hong Kong dollar deposits capped at $200,000.

This is part of its trial run that pays a select group of depositors over 3 percentage points more than established banks such as HSBC Holdings and Standard Chartered. The accounts are set at a 2% rate, but offer a top up of as much as 4% to select clients. Standard Chartered, HSBC and BOC Hong Kong Holdings pay 1.9% to 2.3% for the maturity.

The offer is said to be a warning of upcoming competition for the city's US$410b local currency time-deposit business.

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