Serving With Pride

Beach Savings Bank may be a tiny thrift, but the Huntington Beach savings and loan is offering some of the highest interest rates in the nation on certificates of deposits.

What sets Beach Savings apart, though, from other institutions that offer unusually high rates is that Beach happens to be one of the healthiest S&Ls; in the nation. Many insolvent thrifts offer high interest rates to attract deposits.

It offered the highest rate nationwide--7.87%--on a one-year CD for any S&L; with a three-star rating, according to the June issue of Money magazine. A three-star rating from Veribanc, a Massachusetts research firm that regularly evaluates the nation’s 3,100 thrifts, is the highest available.

The thrift’s rates edged higher in July, to 7.63% on a six-month CD and 8.13% on a 2 1/2-year CD, which produce annual effective yields of 8.01% and 8.56%, respectively, according to a national trade periodical called 100 Highest Yields.