Goldome to Test Selling of CDs In Ohio Stores

As a test-marketing project, Goldome FSB is set to begin selling certificates of deposit through a discount department store that operates in 11 midwestern and southern states, the $13 billion-asset mutual savings bank announced Wednesday.

Goldome said that Hills Department Stores, a 126-store chain owned by SCOA Industries Inc. of Columbus, Ohio, will sell Goldome CDs through four stores in Toledo.

Hills is setting up four "Hills Financial Centers' in Toledo to test the sale of financial products to its customers.

The centers initially will sell only the Goldome CDs but eventually may offer other Goldome financial products as well.

Additional financial centers will be added to other Hills stores later this year, said Salvatore D. Acquisito, assistant vice president and market development manager for Goldome. Toledo was chosen as a test market because deposit interest rates there are generally low, he said.

Hills will run advertisements that will compare Goldome CD rates to other banks in the marketplace, and it is expected that rates on CDs offered in the Hills stores will be the highest in the area, he said. Stephen A. Goldberger, the president of Hills, said high rates will be the main attraction for his customers.

"The Hills customer is a smart price shopper who is looking for smart ways to spend money to earn money,' he said. Hills' offering of exceptional investment opportunities right in the store, he added, will help them continue to use their dollars wisely. …