BANKING / FINANCE

It was four years ago that Donald W. Endresen, then Butterfield’s president, started one of the industry’s first toll-free lines aimed at soliciting jumbo CDs from individuals around the nation.

Endresen came up with the idea after regulators issued new rules that limited S&Ls; from paying outside brokers to bring in jumbo CDs from institutions like banks or pension funds.

It was those institutional accounts that regulators particularly disliked because of their great tendency to be moved from one institution to another, said Jeanette Morgan, manager of Butterfield’s Santa Ana branch.

Morgan, who helped organize the toll-free line, said Endresen wanted to get deposits directly from individuals because the S&L; would avoid paying broker fees, and deposits from individuals were less likely to be moved out in six months or so.

“I just loved that department,” Morgan said.

Now, many banks and S&Ls; have similar operations--commonly called money desks--to solicit large deposits.