SunTrust To Open Bank Inside Middle School

RALEIGH, N.C. -- The newest bank branch in the Triangle will have the youngest tellers around -- pre-teens, to be exact.

To encourage financial literacy among students, SunTrust Bank will open its first Youth Bank inside Ligon Middle School next week. Officials held a kickoff ceremony for the branch on Wednesday.

Students will be able to open savings accounts at the Youth Bank with just a $1 deposit, and they can't take any money out until the end of the school year. SunTrust won't pay interest, but the bank will donate a percentage into each student's account every year.

"I see people get taken advantage of all the time, so now we must begin at an early age to teach our kids financial literacy," said Octavia Rainey, one of the people who pushed to get the experimental bank inside the southeast Raleigh school.

Eighth-grader Bryce Dunn will serve as branch manager for the Youth Bank, and he will preside over the sixth- and seventh-grade tellers.

"When I decided to apply for this job, I was a little nervous," Dunn said. "I told them I thought I had a great personality and I was very outgoing and a great public speaker."

Eighth-grader Shamane McAdams is excited about the Youth Bank, saying she wants to save for college and a career in banking.

"I do chores every weekend, and I'm going to try to save up all that money," McAdams said.

What are people saying about mortgages today:

Rates on 30-year mortgages edged down last week to a seven-month low. Mortgage-giant Freddie Mac reported Thursday that 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages fell to 6.3 percent, down slightly from 6.31 percent two weeks ago. It put rates at the lowest level since they were at 6.24 percent the first week of March.

Bank of Hawaii, Central Pacific Bank, Territorial Savings Bank and Wells Fargo Home Mortgages all cut their 30-year mortgage rates to 5.75 percent this week.

Most people think of a mortgage as a means to an end. After all, you buy a house, not a home loan. But a mortgage is much more than the path to homeownership. It is a financial instrument that must be managed, just like any other financial investment.