AIG Bank has two bank deals that offer closing credits to customers who apply for a mortgage or home equity line of credit (HELOC). Details of the mortgage offer include:

• $500 credit toward closing costs on a first mortgage
• Mortgage applications must be made between Nov. 1, 2009 and March 31, 2010
• Must close on mortgage loan by June 30, 2010

The home equity line of credit offer includes:

• Credit up to $2,000 to offset closing costs and appraisal fee for HELOC in the first lien position
• Credit up to $1,000 for HELOC in a second lien position

Neither of these bank deals can be used with other AIG bank closing cost credits or promotions. You can apply for a mortgage or HELOC online or by phone.

While waiting for your mortgage to close you can park the down payment in an AIG Bank money market account. The bank has money market rates above the average of 1.12%. Money market rates at the bank are:

• 1.3% annual percentage yield (APY) for deposits of $10,000 to $49,999
• 1.4% APY for $50,000 to $99,999
• 1.45% APY for $100,000 to $249,999
• 1.5% APY $250,000 and up

The rates for the money markets are current as of Jan. 14, 2010, but can change at any time. Money markets require a minimum opening deposit of $2,500. Balances below $1,000 do not earn interest.

Parents of babies born in Iowa hospitals can register their child for a chance to win a $1,000 College Savings Iowa 529 Plan. One winner of a 529 savings plan is randomly chosen each month.

All Iowa newborns are eligible to participate in the giveaway, but parents must register to be entered into the drawing. Sixty-six hospitals in the state participate in the program.

The Iowa 529 savings plan helps parents plan for college costs. People who open savings accounts through the program can choose from 13 investment options from Vanguard. Iowans also can deduct up to $2,800 of what they contribute to the savings accounts on their 2009 state tax return.

Withdrawals from 529s can be used to pay for qualified college education expenses such as tuition, books, and room and board. The money in a 529 savings plan can be used at any accredited college, university, community college, or technical training school in the U.S. or abroad.

Parents of newborns who don’t win a $1,000 account are still encouraged to begin saving for college early. “New parents have a lot on their minds, but saving with College Savings Iowa doesn’t take much time and is easy to do. They can open an account in about ten minutes with just $25,” Iowa Treasurer Michael Fitzgerald said in a statement.

There’s still time to take advantage of ING Direct bank deals for Black Friday. The bank deals include a certificate of deposit with a 2.0% annual percentage yield (APY), a $121 bonus for opening an Electric Orange checking account, and $683 off mortgage closing costs. Here are details of the offers:

• The Orange CD rate is for a 12-month certificate of deposit. You must fund the CD from an external checking account. Interest on CDs accrues daily and is compounded monthly. The penalty for withdrawing funds early is three months interest for a CD that has a term of 12 months or less. Certificates of deposit that have terms longer than 12 months have a penalty of six months interest. Funds are FDIC insured up to  $250,000 per depositor.
• The checking account offer requires you to use reference code EOSAVE when opening an account online. Once the account is opened, you must make three signature transactions with your debit card within the first 45 days. The $121 bonus is put into your account on day 50. Electric Orange checking accounts pay interest that depends upon your balance.
• The Easy Orange Mortgage is for people with good credit. You get a low five-year fixed rate that’s based on repaying over 30 years. All payments are made electronically.

All accounts must be opened or applied for by 11:59 p.m. tonight to take advantage of the special deals.

You can get up to a $75 bonus for opening an M&T Bank checking account. You can open it online, by phone, or in a bank branch. M&T Bank has branches and ATM access in Delaware, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, New Jersey, and Washington, D.C.

Details of the bank deals on checking accounts include:

• Overdraft protection and direct deposit required to receive cash bonus
• Free online banking and bill pay
• Check card available

For the Direct Checking account, there is no monthly fee with direct deposit or if the balance of the combined accounts is $1,500. There is unlimited check writing. This account pays a $25 cash bonus with direct deposit.

The Select Checking account is available with interest. There is no monthly fee if the average daily balance is $5,000 or if there is a combined balance of $10,000 with other eligible accounts. If the balance requirements aren’t met, the monthly fee is $14.95. This account pays a $50 bonus with direct deposit.

The Classic Checking account offers free checking for people 50 and older. There is no minimum balance or monthly service fee. This account pays a bonus of $25 with direct deposit.

Woori American Bank is a Korean-American bank based out of California. The FDIC-insured bank has a Korean-version and an English version of their website with the same products advertised on both. One of their products is an automatic savings plan called the One Heart Savings Account. This account pays a high rate of interest to savers who contractually agree to make regular monthly payments for deposit in the savings account. The minimum contract amount is $1,000. If you opened a 5-year $1,000 One Heart Savings account with Woori America Bank, your monthly payment would be $14.43.  After five years your total payments plus interest would equal the contract amount of $1,000 and you have full access to withdraw the funds. You can make your monthly payments by check or automatic bank transfer.

One Heart Account Features:

- All payments must be current to obtain stated APY

- Minimum contract amount is $1,000

- Penalties apply for early withdrawal

Savings Rates:

48-month 5.50% APY

60-month 5.75% APY

120-month 6.25% APY

The automatic savings plan from Woori American Bank is tempting because of the high rates offered. Although it should not replace an emergency savings account because of the costly penalties for early withdrawal, many Americans could use an organized savings plan. It is a simple and effective way to take advantage of monthly savings and compound interest. Automatic savings plans can also be used retirement savings. Best of all for investors, if you make all your payments the bank can tell you with certainty how much money you will have at the end of the contract. There are probably more than  a few General Motors (GM) stockholders and bondholders who might have liked a deal like that.