4.50% 18-Month / 4.25% 12-Month CD at First Commercial Bank in Chicago

First Commercial Bank is offering some competitive promotional CD rates as of 11/25/08:

• 4.00% APY 7-month
• 4.25% APY 12-month
• 4.50% APY 18-month
• 4.50% APY 24-month

These require that you open a checking account with direct deposit. Otherwise the rates will be 25 basis points lower. Minimum deposit is $5,000, and new money is required.

Higher FDIC Deposit Insurance

The bank offers a way that they can provide FDIC insurance of up to $3 million for interest bearing individual accounts ($6 million for joint accounts). This is due to First Commercial Bank being part of Banks of Metropolitan Bank Group which has 12 affiliated banks. Each of these banks has its own FDIC charter. The deposits would be divided among these 12 banks. I'm not sure if this could apply to the CD specials. The affiliated banks have lower rates for the CD promotion described above.

Checking Account Bonus

The bank is also offering an MP3 Player when you open a free checking account with online banking and a minimum deposit of $100. The offer is scheduled to end on 12/31/08. Some of the affiliated banks have some better bonuses. North Community Bank is offering a $50 gift certificate.

It appears a branch visit is required to open accounts. The bank has 7 branch offices in Chicago.

The bank has some fair financial ratings for soundness: 3 stars (adequate) at BauerFinancial and 3 stars (performing) at Bankrate.com. Both ratings are based on 6/30/08 data. The bank has been FDIC insured since 1946 (FDIC Certificate # 16488).

Tags: Illinois, First Commercial Bank, CD rates