Lots of financial institutions have offered piggy banks as lures to attract new deposits but in 2010 Union Bank in Washington State went a step further offering an ethnic variation on the theme.
Fortune Cat, or Maneki Neko in the local currency, is a traditional Japanese ceramic sculpture of a cat beckoning with upright paw and is said to bring good luck to the owner. Often displayed in restaurants and shops, a statue with raised left paw supposedly attracts money, while a raised right paw protects it. Skeptics of the power of this ceramic feline take note: along with the Maneki Neko, the account also came with a $125 bonus when you established one qualifying service thus immediately improving your fortunes.
* Bing: Photos of Maneki Neko
