Bank Deals Weekly Summary for September 6, 2008

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Sep 6, 2008 - 6:49 PM by Ken Tumin

Quick Link for Rates, Recap of this week's posts

For the third Friday in a row, there was another bank failure. Regulators closed Silver State Bank, and the FDIC arranged for it to be acquired by Nevada State Bank. Unlike the closure of Integrity Bank a week ago, this one will cost depositors with uninsured funds (see post).

Silver State Bank's closure news will likely be overshadowed by the recent news that the Fed is planning to place Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac under conservatorship. This CNN article describes some of the possible impacts to home markets and tax payers. As mentioned in this Bloomberg article, shareholders including preferred shareholders may take a big hit. Many regional banks are preferred shareholders, and such a loss will put more stress on these banks.

Certificate of Deposit Rates

WaMu brought back its 5% 12-month CD today (see post). But WaMu isn't the only one to offer 5% short-term CD promotions. Ebank.com came out with a 5% 9-month CD along with a 5% checking promotion. Dime Savings Bank has a 5% 12-month CD promotion, and a credit union with easy membership came out with a 5% 5-month CD (see recap below for links). And for those with IndyMac accounts, don't forget to ask if they'll match one of these CDs. Many readers have reported success in getting IndyMac to match WaMu's 5% CD.

Savings Accounts and Money Market Accounts

There are now several 4%+ money market promotions which guarantee the rate from 3 to 6 months. The best local money market promotion continues to be at a North Carolina bank that is guaranteeing 4% APY on its money market account until 6/30/09. I first posted this on July 15th. A reader just commented that he was still able to open this special MMA. Note, it does require a branch visit (see post).

Only Corus Bank has a non-promo 4% yield on its money market account. Savings account rates have slowly been rising, but they haven't been rising as much as CD rates. For savings accounts without balance requirements, the best yield is 3.75% APY. I did a new review this week of Providentdirect and its 3.75% APY no-minimum savings account. Since it was launched in 2007, the yield has remained very competitive, and the bank now has a solid ACH transfer service.

Below is the list of rate changes for this week:

Rate Hikes:
  1. IndyMac Federal - 3.75% APY for $50K+ (was 3.70%)
  2. Capital One Savings - 3.55% APY for $10K+ (was 3.50%)
  3. Huntington - 3.50% APY for $20K+ (was 3% for $100K+)
  4. Discover - 3.14% APY (was 3.04%)

Rate Drops:
  1. Countrywide Savings - 3.40% APY for $10K-$50K (was 3.50%)
  2. E*TRADE Checking - 2.90% APY (was 3.01%)

Reward Checking Accounts

I reported on four more reward checking accounts this week (see below). The yields range from 4.07% to 5.25% APY. The rates on these accounts overall seem to be slowly falling. I looked at the reward checking account stats in a new post. Many of these accounts have been around now for more than a year. The question remains if banks can afford to keep yields higher than yields offered by online savings accounts.

For my full list of reward checking accounts, please refer to my High Yield Checking website.

Recap for the Week - Links to This Week's Posts

Banking News

Savings and Money Market Deals - National

CD Deals - National

Checking/Savings Account Bonuses

Reward Checking Accounts

CD and Money Market Deals - Local

The rates listed below are based on Annual Percentage Yield (APY). No minimum balances are required unless noted. MMA next to the rates indicate a money market account. Most MMAs have check writing and ATM cards. Online savings accounts usually lack both of these. The top lists include banks and credit unions with broad availability and with minimums around $10K or less. Previous weekly summaries are available for Aug 30th, Aug 23rd, Aug 16th, Aug 9th, Aug 2nd, Jul 26th, Jul 19th, Jul 12th and Jul 5th.

Quick Links: Refer to the following links for the savings accounts and CDs that interest you: Liquid Account Rates: Savings Accounts, Reward Checking, Local checking/savings, Bank alternatives CD Rates: 3 Mo CDs, 6 Mo CDs, 9 Mo CDs, 12 Mo CDs, 18 Mo CDs, 24 Mo CDs, 36 Mo CDs, 48 Mo CDs, 60 Mo CDs, 84 Mo CDs, CDs by state Comments: read and discuss

As of September 6, 2008

Checking/Savings/Money Market Accounts:


3-Month Certificates of Deposit:

6-Month Certificates of Deposit:

9-Month Certificates of Deposit:

12-Month Certificates of Deposit:

18-Month Certificates of Deposit:

24-Month Certificates of Deposit:

36-Month Certificate of Deposit:

48-Month Certificate of Deposit:

60-Month Certificate of Deposit:

84-Month Certificate of Deposit:

High Yield Reward Checking Accounts - Open to All


Checking and Saving Accounts at Local Banks/Credit Unions

Recent CD Specials at Local Credit Unions and Banks


Bank Account Alternatives


Historical Rates from the Federal Reserve (Federal funds, Treasury bills, CD's)

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