Arkansas Banking Rates and News

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...

It's getting harder to find reward checking accounts that offer the top rate for balances over $25K. However, there continues to be a few banks and credit unions that offer top rates on balances up to $50K. Just like rates, these balance caps can fall. If you're lucky, the institution will grandfather you in on the cap. One reader mentioned that Danversbank did this. Customers who opened the account before the cap reduction continue to earn 3.01% APY on balances up to $100K.

I did a quick review of the best rates in our reward checking table. If...

SunTrust Bank has brought back its special CD package. As you might expect, it's not as nice as what they were offering last year. Nevertheless, the current offer is competitive. The unusual feature is that it's actually two CDs: one with a 39-month term and one with a 63-month term. Both have a 2.40% APY. You must open both CDs with a minimum deposit of $2K for each CD for a total of $4K. Each CD must be funded with an equal amount. The special also requires that you have a SunTrust checking account. This can be...

Several insurance companies like State Farm and MetLife have banks that offer deposit accounts. I just found another one that's under Shelter Insurance Companies. Its bank is called Shelter Financial Bank, and it's currently offering some very competitive long-term CD rates. The notable long-term CD rates include a 3.20% APY 7-year CD, a 2.95% APY 6-year CD, and a 2.55% APY 5-year CD. Minimum deposit is $1,000. Rates are 10 basis points higher for the Jumbo CDs with a $95K minimum deposit. These rates are listed in the bank's deposit rates page as of...