Best Bank Deals of the Week

BankingMyWay is back at it this week scouring the countryside for the best bank deals in the U.S.

Let’s get going.

HELOCs
The perception is that home equity lines of credit are out of favor in a time when U.S. households are trying to pay down debt, not add to it. Maybe that’s why home equity loans are off 20% so far this year.

But that leaves a lot of room for people who have the financial credentials to get a great HELOC deal at a great rate. The best home equity credit deals we’re seeing are down in the 3.25% category (mostly in the form of adjustable rate mortgages that are tied to the prime rate, currently around 3.25%). And that’s at a time when the national rate for HELOCs runs north of 5.50%. Banks like Nationwide Bank (Stock Quote: NFS) and regional player Third Federal Savings and Loan both have 3.25% HELOC rates, but only for borrowers with credit scores of 720 and above. That said, even if you go down to a credit score of 680, you can still score a HELOC rate of less than 4%, and that’s a good deal these days.

Bank Savings Accounts
In a banking environment where rate-dealers are throwing nickels around like manhole covers, every dollar counts. So ING Direct’s (Stock Quote: ING) $25 offer to open a savings account could make sense, especially when there is no minimum deposit. The deal is only for new customers, but if that means you, simply visit the ING Direct Web site, enter the reference code of VE222 and you’re off and running.

Not a bad deal: Drop $5 into your new ING savings account in the morning, and by the end of the day there’ll be $30 staring back at you from your account, courtesy of ING.