Bank Deals Weekly Summary for August 1, 2009

Aug 1, 2009 - 8:03 PM by Ken Tumin

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

Five more banks were closed yesterday by regulators. The largest failure was at Mutual Bank. Many of you might have CDs at Mutual Bank. For several years they've been offering competitive money market accounts and CDs nationwide. There should be no worry about losing any money. The FDIC arranged for United Central Bank to assume all deposits of Mutual Bank even those above the FDIC limits. However, there is a concern about losing the high rate of a Mutual Bank CD. United Central Bank has not yet decided about the interest rates of Mutual Bank accounts. It has the right to lower the CD rates. Customers will have the right to make a penalty-free early withdrawal. However, it'll be very unlikely that customers will be able to replace 5%+ Mutual Bank CDs with something comparable in today's environment.

The failure of Mutual Bank shows one reason it's important to consider the financial strength of a bank when you're shopping for CDs. Having your CD rate downsized can be painful. The FDIC often does not report on the rate cut decisions of the banks. There have been a few cases in which the FDIC will report at the time of the closure that the assuming bank will honor existing CD rates. However, in most cases the FDIC just states that the assuming bank will review rates and will notify customers. I have more details about this issue in yesterday's post. I also have a review of an article that reports on the CD rate downsizing at two recent California bank failures.

Savings Account Rates

There was a rare rate hike of a competitive savings account this week. ShoreBank raised its online savings account rate from 2.05% to 2.15% APY. But as I described in my post, this rate increase may have more to do with ShoreBank's worsening financial condition than a change in the interest rate environment. Nevertheless, if you keep under the FDIC limits, there is little to worry about for savings accounts. Unlike CDs, there's no worry about losing your rate lock.

Another bit of good news doesn't involve a rate hike but just the holding of a rate. Alliant Credit Union has finally decided not to reduce its savings account rate at the start of a new month. The savings account rate is holding at the very competitive rate of 2.00% APY for August. The savings account rate had been falling 25 basis points every month since April. For those looking for a savings account from a financially healthy institution with good customer service and that has a long history of competitive rates, Alliant Credit Union should be given consideration. To see the savings account rate history for the last three years, refer to my Alliant CU account review.

Below is the list of rate changes this week.

Rate Hikes:
  1. ShoreBank Savings - 2.15% (was 2.05%)
  2. UmbrellaBank MMA - 1.74% $50K+ (was 1.50%)
Rate Drops:
  1. Bank of Internet Advantage Savings - 2.25% (was 2.50%)
  2. Centennial Bank Savings - 1.01% to 2.02% (was 1.26% to 2.28%)
  3. Union Federal Savings - 1.85% (was 2.00%)
  4. Nationwide Bank MMA - 1.85% (was 1.90%)
  5. OneWest/IndyMac Savings - 1.85% $50K+ (was 2.00%)
  6. Bank of Internet Savings - 1.81% (was 2.06%)
  7. AIG Bank MMA - 1.81% $10K+ (was 1.86%)
  8. ADB Bank MMA - 1.80% (was 2.05%)
  9. Corus Bank MMA - 1.79% (was 1.85%)
  10. Ally Bank Savings - 1.75% (was 1.85%)
  11. iGObanking Savings - 1.67% (was 1.81%)
  12. Bank Provident Online Savings - 1.65% (was 1.75%)
Certificate of Deposit Rates

CD rates continued to trend lower overall. We lost the 4% 50-month CD July special at NASA FCU. They have a new August CD special, but it's a letdown compared to July with a 1.50% 9-month CD and a 2.00% APY 15-month CD.

There were a few bright spots with some small rate increases on mid-term maturities. Examples of this were seen at Discover Bank, MetLife Bank and UFB Direct. However, they still remain below the rate leaders even with these rate increases.

I added a few new banks to the CD lists below with top rates for terms of 12 months and longer. These include Equity Bank's 2.55% 18-month CD, Security Savings Bank's 2.47% 17-month CD and Citizens First's 3.15% 22-month CD. These are small banks which don't have the best financial health. So make sure you stay under the FDIC limits and consider the risk of losing your CD rate lock if the bank should happen to fail. I've contacted these banks and confirmed people from any state can apply. Note, it's common for small banks to change their policies on applications so be sure to call for the latest details. And also be sure to call for the latest rates since top rates haven't lasted long at any bank or credit union.

For those who want to avoid being stuck in a CD if rates start shooting up sometime in the future, a no-penalty CD is something to consider. Ally Bank still offers its 1.90% APY 9-month no-penalty CD. HSBC Direct's Online CDs have early withdrawal penalties, but according to HSBC Direct's website, the penalty is only 30 days of interest. Most of their CD rates are not competitive except the 12-month CD which currently has an APY of 2.00%. Let's say rates do shoot up 6 months from now, and you want to take that money from the 12-month HSBC Direct CD and move it to a higher-paying CD. You'll lose 30 days of interest. So after the penalty, you'll retain 5 out of 6 months of interest which results in a rate over those 6 months of about 1.67% APY. With savings account rates continuing to drop, you may make more money with this type of CD than a savings account (see account review).

A lesser known bank with CDs available nationwide is Wilshire State Bank which also offers no-penalty CDs. They currently have the best no-penalty CD deals with a 2.30% APY 12-month CD and a 2.40% APY 18-month CD. In addition to penalty-free early withdrawals, you're also allowed additional deposits. With this type of CD you get much of the liquidity of a savings account, and you also get the rate lock of a CD (see account review).

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

Best Nationwide CD Deals as of 8/01/09: 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. 2.50% 3-mo savings account promo at 1st Constitution Direct (account review)
  3. 2.50% 3-mo savings account promo at ProvidentNJ Direct (account review)
  4. 2.50% 12-mo CD at Connexus CU (account review)
  5. 2.30% 12-mo & 2.40% 18-mo Flex CD with Liquid Features at Wilshire State Bank (account review)
  6. 2.55% 18-mo CD at Equity Bank (account review)
  7. 2.47% 17-mo CD at Security Savings Bank (account review)
  8. 3.15% 22-mo CD at Citizens First (account review)
  9. 2.75% 24-mo CD at Southeast Financial FCU (account review)
  10. 3.91% 60-mo CD at Melrose CU (account review)
  11. 3.50% 60-mo CD at iGObanking (account review)
Best Local CD Deals as of 8/01/09: 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. 5.00% 6-mo CD ($25K max) at Tyndall CU in Panhandle FL (account review)
  2. 2.50% 6-mo CD ($25K max) at STC Capital Bank in Chicago (account review)
  3. 2.50% 7-mo CD & 3% 13-mo CD at Members First CU in NH/MA (account review)
  4. 2.25% 3mo to 12mo CD at CoreFirst Bank at CO & KS (account review)
  5. 3.00% 9-mo CD at Bartow County Bank in GA (account review)
  6. 3.05% 12-mo CD at Self Reliance New York FCU (account review)
  7. 2.84% 12-mo CD at Fort Bragg FCU in NC (account review)
  8. 2.53% 12-mo CD at American Plus Bank in Southern CA (account review)
  9. 2.50% 13-mo CD at Umpqua Bank in WA, OR & N. CA (account review)
  10. 3.75% 27-mo CD & 2.75% 15-mo CD at Enterprise Bank of SC (account review)
  11. 3.25% 24-mo CD at Jefferson Financial CU in Louisiana (account review)
  12. 2.75% 24-mo CD & 3.50% 48-mo & 2.50% 18-mo CD at Montauk CU in NY (account review)
  13. 2.85% 25-mo CD at First National Bank in TX (account review)
  14. 3.25% 42-mo CD at Regions Bank in Several States (account review)
  15. 4.07% 60-mo CD at United Community CU in IL & MO (account review)
  16. 3.75% 60-mo CD at Fidelity Bank of Florida (account review)
Reward Checking Accounts

I reported on two new reward checking accounts this week with rates of 4.01% APY and 5.01% APY. Both are local deals.

I just learned this week that one bank that I first reported on in 2008 is now offering their 4.50% reward checking account nationwide. In addition, they're guaranteeing the 4.50% APY until May 2010. The 4.50% APY applies to balances up to $25K if the typical reward checking requirements are met (see post). With such a hot deal, I would be surprised if this lasts more than a month. It doesn't take long before small banks get so many deposits that they'll either lower the rates for new customers or reduce availability to their local area. To find other reward checking accounts with rate guarantees refer to this post.

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

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 August 1, 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)

In order of date posted. - Sort by votes
Anonymous

Anonymous - #1, Friday, August 7, 2009 - 4:24 PM

Bank Of Internet has dropped it's "Advantage Savings" rate yet again to 2.0%.
That's 50 basis points in two weeks.
Not a good sign.
Furthermore, it's taken them over two weeks to open an "online" account.
They have no online signature card, or at least a fax to facilitate the process.
These guys should be called "Bank Of Stone Age"!
I would pass on them.


1

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