Banks, credit unions good at finances, not temperatures

Leave banks and credit unions to their job of tracking finances.

Unfortunately, the same accuracy expected in accounts can’t be delivered in temperature readings from their rooftop or sidewalk marquees.

“People will come in and say to us, ‘It’s warm out there, but that reading seems a little high.’ Our tellers tell them, that’s because we’re the hottest bank in town,” joked Scott Spaay, M&I Bank manager at its Appleton branch on W. Wisconsin Avenue.

Last week Monday, the day the temperature climbed to 95 degrees, for instance, the bank sign displayed 106 degrees.

Everyone has seen readings across the Fox Cities fluctuate sign to sign. Which one is right depends on how the thermometer is set up, said Teri Egger, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Green Bay.

The rules for an accurate reading are as follows for a thermometer:

It cannot be exposed directly.

It requires a grassy surface because black tops radiate the heat.

It must be installed 3 to 10 meters above the surface.

In his 12-year tenure with M&I, Spaay has learned that not meeting those guidelines can yield higher readings.

“We’ve had a little trouble with the sign … The sun shines directly on it, and it skews the temperature,” he said.

But on a bright note, none of the customers holds it against the bank. It’s a talking piece indoors. And on cloudy days, they maintain the thermometer gets a better read.

In Little Chute, BLC Community Bank had hoped their thermometer would hit 100 degrees last week, but were sorely disappointed with a 98-degree reading, said receptionist Janet Hietpas.

The thermometer usually falls close to the weather service’s recorded readings.

“People were saying, ‘Oh my gosh. Yeah. It’s probably right,’” she 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.