Arkansas Banking Rates and News

United Federal Credit Union is offering a few good CD and IRA CD deals. First, there's a share certificate special with a 43-month term. Rates are based on the deposit amount: 1.60% APY for $100K, 1.50% APY for $50K and 1.35% APY for $500. The credit union's long-term premier certificates are also good deals. The best one is a 2.00% APY 5-year CD with a $100K minimum deposit. The yield is 1.90% for a $50K minimum. The special CD rates are listed in the credit union's spring share certificate special page as of 4/17/2012. The other...

The seven banking divisions of BOK Financial Corporation are offering a cash bonus for opening a new checking account. Four of the divisions are offering a $100 bonus, and the other three are offering a $50 bonus. To qualify for the bonus, the customer must either activate direct deposit OR make 10 debit card purchases ($10 minimum per transaction). The promotion is scheduled to end on May 31, 2012. Below are the links to the promotion pages of the seven divisions:

• $100 bonus at Bank of Texas (free checking)
• $100 bonus at Colorado State Bank and...

SunTrust Bank has a CD and IRA CD special with a competitive rate. It's a 6-year (72 month) CD with a 2.00% APY. Minimum deposit is $2,000, and the maximum opening deposit is $250,000 per CD. A new or existing checking account is required. This is a limited time special, and the rate may vary by location. This special rate and term are listed at the SunTrust CD rates page for several zip codes as of 2/28/2012.

I wasn't able to find an account disclosure online, so I used SunTrust's online chat service to find...

Air Force Federal Credit Union did something that's not common these days. It made some large rate increases on its share certificates. Its long-term CDs and IRA CDs are now competitive. The best ones include a 2.75% APY 7-year CD, 2.20% APY 5-year CD and a 1.60% APY 3-year CD. Minimum deposit is $100,000. For the 7-year and 5-year CDs, rates are 5 basis points lower for a $2,500 minimum deposit. These rates are listed in the credit union's rates page as of 1/19/2012.

The credit union's early withdrawal penalty is a little convoluted:

The early...

With all the news of Bank of America's new debit card fee, many people have decided to switch to credit unions and community banks. Those looking for a community bank or credit union should consider a reward checking account. The vast majority of reward checking accounts are free checking accounts that give customers an option to recieve a high interest rate and refunds of ATM fees. These extra perks typically have monthly requirements which always include debit card usage. You can see my overview of reward checking in my post 10 Common Traits of High-Yield Reward Checking Accounts,...

Liberty Bank is offering a free reward checking account called High-Interest Checking. It has the following rates if certain monthly requirements are met (as of 8/22/2011):

• 2.50% APY for balances up to $30,000
• 0.15% APY for portion of balance over $30,000
• 0.15% base rate if requirements are not met

The monthly requirements include:

• 10 check card transactions
• One direct deposit of at least $250 or more
• Maintain online banking and e-statements

Minimum opening deposit is $25. There is no minimum balance requirement or monthly service charges.

I don't see any mention about ATM fee reimbursements. However, in the

Yesterday I reviewed the top online CD rates at Focus Bank. The bank also offers a reward checking and savings account. The reward checking is called MAXimum Free Checking. I first reviewed this account in 2007 when the top rate was 6.01% APY. The rate has fallen, but it remains competitive with a 3.01% APY for up to $25K as of 6/14/2011. Balances over $25K earn 0.51% APY. The monthly requirements include 10 debit card purchases, online access and e-statements. I have more details in my Focus Bank reward checking review.

If you...

Focus Bank is offering four competitive CD rates: 2.07% APY 37 months, 1.61% APY 19 months, 1.26% APY 14 months and 1.10% APY 7 months. Minimum deposit is $1,000. These are listed at the bank's CD page as of 6/13/2011.

On the bank's CD page, there's a FAQs tab which provides many details of the CD. I wish more banks provided this many details on their websites. Some notable features include:

• Early withdrawal penalties: CDs 12 months and under = 1 month's interest penalty, CDs 13 – 35 months = 3 month's interest penalty, and...

It’s not easy to find 3.00% CD rates these days. They have become very rare in the last year especially for terms of 5 years and under. There are a few out there, and I found one at TruService Community Credit Union which is offering a 3.04% APY 5-year CD and IRA CD. There’s also a competitive 3-year CD with a 2.02% APY. Minimum deposit is $500. These rates are listed in the credit union’s rates page as of 5/23/2011.

Credit union membership is open to anyone who lives, works, worships or...

In the last couple of weeks I've noticed a few new reward checking accounts. This one at Hope Credit Union is one of those new ones. It's nice that institutions are still launching new reward checking accounts. However, there's one downside. Most of these new ones have balance caps of $10,000, and that includes Hope Credit Union. Nevertheless, it has some features that make it noteworthy. In addition to the checking account, there's also a companion savings account. These accounts are under the Kasasa brand name. The checking is called Kasasa Cash and the savings is called...

The banks that are the subsidiaries of BOK Financial Corporation are offering competitive rates on its 7-year CD and IRA CD. The highest possible rate is 3.05% APY. This requires a minimum $100K and a checking account. The rate is 3.00% APY for a $1K minimum. Without a checking account the rates are 2.95% APY for a $100K minimum and 2.90% APY for a $1K minimum. According to the bank CSR, the early withdrawal penalty is 12 months of interest. These rates are accurate as of 4/28/2011.

All of the banks under BOK Financial are divisions...

SunTrust Bank continues to offer its special CD package with the competitive 2.40% APY. I first reported on this special in January. The special requires that you open both a 39-month CD and a 63-month CD with a $2K minimum deposit in both. Both CDs have a 2.40% APY. I have the full details in my SunTrust CD review.

SunTrust just came out with a new CD/IRA special with a higher rate. It's offering a 2.70% APY on a 66-month CD. Minimum deposit is $2K. This is listed at SunTrust's CD page...