[December 06, 2005] First Federal Bank of California Provides an ``Advantage'' in Internet Banking with the Initiation of FirstFedDirect Tweet SANTA MONICA, Calif. --(Business Wire)-- Dec. 6, 2005 -- First Federal Bank of California, the third largest Los Angeles-based financial institution(a), today announced the opening of its new Internet division, FirstFedDirect, along with the division's inaugural product, the "Internet Advantage Savings Account." With this new division and initial product offering, depositors in states outside of First Federal Bank of California's current market niche, can now enjoy the competitive interest rates the Bank's California clients enjoy as well as have access to an account that has no fees or minimum opening deposit requirement. Founded in 1929, First Federal Bank of California has been focused on meeting the banking needs of the Southern California communities in which it serves for over 76 years. With $10 billion in assets and thirty branches located throughout its marketplace, First Fed was built on the premise of neighbors helping neighbors. Helping its clients manage their finances, save and invest to live better is at the core of First Federal Bank of California's service philosophy and is at the heart of FirstFedDirect's philosophy as well. According to Jim Giraldin, President of First Federal Bank of California, "Our new Internet division affords us the opportunity to help people outside of California to better manage their finances and ultimately live better by providing them with top-of-the-line, highly competitive products." He continued, "The ability to eliminate the servicing costs associated with maintaining a branch for these accounts, enables us to offer our 'Internet Advantage Savings Account' with one of the best interest rates available today on a liquid savings account, and the account is FDIC-insured up to the maximum allowable by law. That is definitely a winning combination for Internet-driven depositors." With an eye toward providing depositors nationwide with access to a myriad of highly competitive deposit products, FirstFedDirect is also offering an extensive range of Certificate of Deposit (CD) products. First Federal Bank of California is a subsidiary of FirstFed Financial Corp. (NYSE:FED). Corporate Address: 401 Wilshire Blvd., Santa Monica, CA 90401, Telephone: 310.319.6000. (a) Ranked by asset size. Financial information as of 09/30/05 as compiled by the FDIC. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]