Bank Deals Weekly Summary for June 20, 2009

Comments (3)
Jun 20, 2009 - 8:02 PM by Ken Tumin

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

June had been a quiet month for bank failures, but that changed yesterday with 3 closures (see post). These were just small banks. There are a few well-known larger banks that may be near failure, but they continue to survive. This may be due to the FDIC being overwhelmed. Depositors shouldn't be worried. For 80% of this year's closures, the FDIC has found buyers that have agreed to assume all regular deposits, even those above the FDIC limits. Nevertheless, it's still wise to stay under the FDIC limits.

One thing that should be helping banks is this very low interest rate environment. Unfortunately, it's not helping savers any. Savings account and CD rates continued to fall this week. The question is when will rates turn around. Many believe that we could see higher rates by the end of this year or early next year as the result of higher inflation caused by our government's fiscal and monetary policies. As this BusinessWeek article describes, it's not a sure thing. Consumers have pulled back in their spending. If this continues, the economy will likely remain weak, and inflation and interest rates will stay low. For CD investors, you may not want to place all your bets on higher rates in the next year. One way to hedge your bets is to choose long-term CDs that have small early withdrawal penalties. The best have penalties under 6 months of interest. The worst have penalties as high as 30 months of interest.

Savings Account Rates

Two savings accounts that had been offering 3%+ have or will soon drop their rates below 3%. ProvidentNJ Direct reduced its 3-month promo rate from 3.01% to 2.75% APY, and SmartyPig announced it will reduce its savings account rate from 3.05% to 2.75% APY effective on 6/22/09. On the positive side, EverBank continues to offer its 3.01% 3-month promo for new customers (see post).

If you want a bank with both a competitive intro rate and a history of top rates after the promo, 1st Constitution Direct is a bank to consider. They currently offer a savings account with a 2.50% APY 3-month promo and a 2.25% APY standard rate for balances of over $10K. Plus, the bank has a history of competitive rates for the last year (see post).

Rate Hikes:
  1. None
Rate Drops:
  1. SmartyPig Savings eff 6/22 - 2.75% (was 3.05%)
  2. ProvidentNJ Direct Savings 3mo promo - 2.75% (was 3.01%)
  3. ADB Bank Direct MMA - 2.05% (was 2.10%)
  4. EBSB Direct Ssavings - 2.02% $50K+ (was 2.22%)
  5. Ally Bank Savings - 2.00% (was 2.05%)
  6. Corus Bank MMA - 2.00% (was 2.09%)
  7. OneWest/IndyMac Savings - 2.00% $100K+ (was 2.15%)
  8. Mutual Bank MMA - 1.97% (was 2.01%)
  9. AIG Bank MMA - 1.96% $50K-$100K (was 2.01%)
  10. iGObanking Savings - 1.91% (was 2.02%)
  11. Zions Bank MMA - 1.87% (was 1.92%)
  12. Newtown Savings - 1.80% (was 2.30%)
  13. Bank Provident Savings - 1.75% (was 1.90%)
  14. Intervest MMA - 1.72% $2.5K+ (was 1.75%)
  15. Amegy Bank MMA - 1.50% $1K+ (was 1.75% $10K+)
  16. Countrywide/BofA Savings - 1.40% $10K-$50K (was 1.50%)
  17. Virtual Bank Savings - 0.80% (was 1.01%)
Certificate of Deposit Rates

I posted on a few good nationwide CD deals this week. State Farm has a new CD special with a 3% APY for a 28-month term. Another good deal is being offered by Irwin Union Bank. It's offering an 11-month CD with a rate as high as 2.61% APY and throwing in a gift worth up to $300. Minimum deposit is $20K (see post).

Below are some of the best CD deals that are still active.

Best Nationwide CD Deals as of 6/20/09: Also listed are a few savings accounts with rate guarantee periods. The full list of nationwide CD rates is farther down.
  1. 3.01% 3-mo money market/checking promo at EverBank (account review)
  2. 2.75% 3-mo savings account promo at ProvidentNJ Direct (account review)
  3. 2.55% 3, 6, 9 & 12-mo CDs at TotalBank (account review)
  4. 2.50% 4-mo CD at Danvers Bank (account review)
  5. 2.15% No-Penalty 9-mo CD at Ally Bank (account review
  6. 3.03% 12-mo CD & 3.19% 24-mo CD at Melrose CU (account review)
  7. 2.35% Add-On CD at Amboy Direct (account review)
  8. 3.00% 28-mo CD at State Farm Bank (account review
  9. 2.87% 24-mo CD at Tennessee Commerce Bank (account review)
  10. 3.50% 36-mo CD & 4.00% 60-mo CD at Pentagon FCU (account review)
  11. 4.00% 59-mo CD at US Bank (account review)
Best Local CD Deals as of 6/20/09: Some of the best CD deals are from banks and credit unions that don't offer accounts nationwide. Refer to the recap section and the state index section to find all the recent local deals. Here are some of the best deals to note.
  1. 3.25% 7-mo CD at CoreFirst Bank & Trust in Kansas City (account review)
  2. 2.75% 6-mo CD ($25K max) at STC Capital Bank in Chicago (account review)
  3. 2.50% 7-mo CD at Central Bank in Tampa, FL (account review)
  4. 2.80% 9-mo CD at Connex CU in CT (account review)
  5. 3.05% 12-mo CD at Self Reliance New York FCU (account review)
  6. 2.84% 12-mo CD at Fort Bragg FCU in NC (account review)
  7. 2.75% 12-mo CD & 2.50% 9-mo CD at American Momentum Bank in TX & FL (account review)
  8. 3.00% 18-mo CD at First Priority CU in MA (account review)
  9. 3.25% 24-mo CD at Jefferson Financial CU in Louisiana (account review)
  10. 3.10% 25-mo CD & 2.65% 6-mo CD at CoreFirst Bank at CO & KS (account review)
  11. 3.00% 24-mo & 2.65% 12-mo CD at LOMTO FCU in NY City (account review)
  12. 3.00% 24-mo CD at Sound Credit Union in WA (account review
  13. 4.50% 60-mo CD & 2.75% 12-mo CD at Urban Trust Bank in FL & MD (account review)
Reward Checking Accounts

I reported on three new reward checking accounts this week with rates ranging from 4.00% to 4.61% APY (see below). There are a few banks and credit unions guaranteeing their reward checking rates into 2010 (see post). In that post I also looked at how reward checking rates have fallen based on the age of the accounts. As you might expect, the older accounts have lower rates than the newer accounts. However, many of the old accounts still offer rates much higher than the rates of online savings accounts.

To see all of the high yield reward checking accounts available throughout the nation, please refer to my High Yield Checking website.

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

Banking News

Savings Accounts - National

CD Deals - National

Checking/Savings 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 at this page. Quick Links: Refer to the following links for the savings accounts and CDs that interest you: Liquid Account Rates: Savings Accounts, Reward Checking, 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 June 20, 2009

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:

Various Deposit Account Deals


High Yield Reward Checking Accounts - Open to All


Recent CD Specials at Local Credit Unions and Banks


Bank Account Alternatives


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

Edit 6/21/09: Added TCB's 2.30% savings account and Broadway's 2.53% 12mo CD.

Post a CommentComments
In order of date posted. - Sort by votes
Darryl

Darryl (anonymous) - #1, Saturday, June 20, 2009 - 11:16 PM

Something that could be useful would be in the future pointing out what banks accept deposits from Permanent Residents, Resident Aliens, and/or Non-Resident aliens. Some banks only appear to offer accounts to citizens, or citizens and PRs. This makes it difficult to save money for people that are here on work visas/status (even if they are here for several years), or for international students.

For example, I managed to open an account with Everbank last year since they told me to submit the required forms by mail when opening the account since I was not a resident. When they dropped their rate to 1.65% APY, it was difficult to find another bank that had a competitive rate and supported these kinds of accounts.


1
Mike/ichaelm

Mike/ichaelm (anonymous) - #2, Sunday, June 21, 2009 - 5:01 PM

Hi Ken,
2 comments: First, you don't have Tennessee Commerce Bank on your list of highest yielding (2.30% if I remember right) savings accounts, even though you just recently wrote a review of the account. Also, Broadway Federal Bank is (and has been for some time now) offering a 12 month, 2.53% CD, with a $1000 minimum, for anyone who missed out on their Anniversary Savings Account.


1
Banking Guy

Banking Guy (anonymous) - #3, Sunday, June 21, 2009 - 6:45 PM

Darryl, Thanks for suggestion. I'll keep an eye on banks that allow non-citizens/PRs to apply.

Mike, Thanks for the comments. Looks like I had forgotten about these accounts. I just updated the post with these. I'll do a new post on this Broadway CD tomorrow.


1

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