Terminating deposits were a form of savings-and-loan that were one of the key products of the early building society movement in the UK and from there they spread through what is now the Commonwealth. They were banned in the UK around 1910, and are now illegal everywhere, the last vestiges being seen in New Zealand. The key features were: As originally established some depositors would never receive a mortgage (win a ballot) i.e the number of ballots over the life of the scheme was less than the number of depositors.