Bills Apoppin'

The crowds that filled the lobby of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago last week were looking for more than a chance to admire the ornate ceiling and marble columns. They came to cash in on one of this year's hottest financial plays: U.S. Treasury securities. Enticed by a surge in interest rates and put off by the stock market, individuals have turned the once staid investment into a popular favorite. Small investors bought three-month and six-month T- bills at the record pace of $2.5 billion a week during the first quarter of 1989, compared with $2 billion a year ago. Says a Chicago Federal Reserve officer: "On auction days, you'd think this was the racetrack."

The Treasuries offer a timely combination of high yields and safety. Moreover, interest on the securities is exempt from state and local taxes. While rates have dipped below the peaks they reached in March, new three-month T-bill issues offered an attractive return of more than 8.5% last week. Investors daunted by the $10,000 minimum-purchase requirement for T-bills can buy longer-term Treasury notes and bonds in face amounts of $1,000 and $5,000. Such securities mature in two to 30 years and can pay more than 9% interest, which often exceeds the rates paid by bank certificates of deposit.

In fact, some small investors are buying Treasuries by withdrawing money from accounts in banks or in savings and loans, which prompts Federal Reserve officials to point out that they do not deliberately try to compete with private institutions. Even so, the Government is a tough rival. Its customers can save the $25-to-$50 commissions that brokers and commercial banks charge on Treasury sales by purchasing the securities directly from the Government at a Federal Reserve Bank. For many investors, safety is still the ultimate lure. Said a Chicago police officer after buying a Treasury bond last week: "If you invest in the Federal Government, the whole country has to fall apart before you lose anything." Despite the Government's profligate spending habits, most people think it can still be trusted with a citizen's nest egg.