1.97% 12-Month CD with Some Liquid Features at FirsTier Bank in CO - Local Only

FirsTier Bank is advertising a competitive 12-month CD special with a 1.97% APY. It has some liquid features that make it a little better deal. It allows unlimited add-on deposits and penalty-free withdrawals of up to $2,500 per 30 days. Minimum initial deposit is $25,000 which offsets some of the usefulness of the unlimited add-on deposits. Add-on CDs can be useful to hedge against future low rates, and they're most useful when they have low minimum initial deposit requirements.

This CD special doesn't seem to be listed on the bank's website. It was advertised in today's (12/13/09) edition of the Boulder Daily Camera. The ad is available online here.

It appears that a branch visit is required to open an account. Branches are located in the Colorado cities of Denver, Parker, Loveland, Louisville, Englewood and Westminster.

The bank's ratings for safety and soundness are weak: 1 star (troubled) at BauerFinancial (based on 9/30/09 data) and 1 star (lowest) at Bankrate.com (based on 6/30/09 data). According to the Boulder County Business Report, FirsTier experienced third-quarter losses as it was "forced to increase loan/loss reserves to protect against the possible default of those bad loans." The bank has been a FDIC member since 2003 (FDIC Certificate # 57646).

Other Competitive Certificate of Deposit Rates

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• My weekly list of hot nationwide and local CD deals