BANKING/FINANCE

Wall Street Account: Fighting for increasingly scarce deposits, Landmark Bank in La Habra has come up with an idea that has brought in $13 million in deposits in two months, largely from investors who had been putting their money in funds managed by New York brokerages.

With little advertising, Landmark has opened money market accounts for small institutional investors--those who handle a small company’s pension funds, for instance--with a deposit rate that usually matches or exceeds Wall Street.

The bank’s “Wall Street Account” is a rarity in the banking world, said Craig Collette, the bank’s president, because the interest rate is based on an index of Wall Street money market funds. Typically, Collette said, banks base their money market rates on what other banks offer.

Landmark currently offers 8.03% on its Wall Street accounts, while many major banks offer rates below 7%.