Highest Rate on Certificate of Deposit - Oct 11th

I've been searching for bank CDs with rates of 5% or higher. There are not many out there. Bankrate.com has the highest 5-year CD rate of 4.90% from Intervest National Bank.

If you want rates above 5% you'll likely need to choose a 5-year term. If rates continue to rise like they have this year, you might be better off with keeping it in high-yield savings accounts like EmigrantDirect. However, if interest rates go up slowly, a high-rate long-term CD may be better.

Online banks may have the best savings account rates, but they don't always have the best rates on CDs. Seems like local banks and credit unions often have special CD rates to attract more customers. I'm not sure why online banks are not as competitive with CDs.

Most of the banks that I've found are not online banks. So you'll likely have to live near a branch to get these CDs. Because of this, I've included the city and state of the main branch, but keep in mind that many have branches in other cities or states. I did not include credit unions in the list so you don't have to worry about membership requirements. I've looked at credit union CD specials in this previous post. Most of these bank CDs have 5-year terms. However, I was able to find a few shorter term 5% CDs.

5 Percent Certificates of Deposit (or better)

Terms Under 60-Months:

• 5.00% - 36-month, $1K min, First Community Bank of Southwest Florida, Fort Myers, Florida
• 5.00% - 48-month, $500 min, First Central Savings Bank, Glenn Cove, New York

60-month Terms:

• 5.35% - $5K min, Mutual Bank, Chicago, Illinois
• 5.25% - $1K min, First Community Bank of Southwest Florida, Fort Myers, Florida
• 5.15% - $500 min, First Central Savings Bank, Glenn Cove, New York
• 5.15% - $1K min, First Priority Bank, Bradenton, Florida
• 5.12% - $10K min, Citizens First Bank - Wartburg, Tennessee (59-month term)
• 5.00% - $500 min, Trustco Bank, New York, Vermont, New Jersey, Florida
• 5.00% - $500 min, Metcalf Bank, Overland Park, Kansas
• 5.00% - $500 min, United Bank of Union, Union, Missouri (Step-Up CD)
• 5.00% - $500 min, First National Bank of Altavista, Altavista, Virginia
• 5.00% - $1K min, USAA Bank, San Antonio, Texas (can open online, see post)
• 5.00% - $1K min, Lawrence Bank, Lawrence, Kansas
• 5.00% - $1K min, Centinel Bank of Taos New Mexico, Taos, New Mexico
• 5.00% - $25K min, Union Bank and Trust Company, Lincoln, Nebraska

All rates are in APY and were being advertised on the banks' websites as of October 11, 2005.