Bank Deals Weekly Summary for December 19, 2009

Comments (12)
Dec 19, 2009 - 3:59 PM by Ken Tumin

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

The last scheduled FOMC meeting for 2009 was held this week, and as expected there were no Christmas presents for savers. The Fed continues its line on interest rates: "anticipate that economic conditions [...] are likely to warrant exceptionally low levels of the federal funds rate for an extended period."

We probably saw the last bank failures for 2009 yesterday. The FDIC was especially busy with 7 closures. The total number of failures for 2009 is 140. Three of yesterday's closures involved banks that I've listed in my weekly summaries for the last several years. These include UmbrellaBank's parent, New South Federal Savings Bank, Imperial Capital Bank and First Federal Bank of California. The good news is that the FDIC was able to find buyers for all three, and the buyers agreed to assume all deposits even those that exceed the FDIC limit. However, for those who have CDs with these banks, your CD rate may be reduced. Please leave a comment in my bank failure review post when you find out how your CDs were affected.

Savings Account Rates

Flagstar Bank slashed its rates again this week. It appears they now have a strategy to reduce deposits. Their new money market rate of 0.50% should help with this strategy. Flagstar now shares the bottom of the list with ETrade Bank. It's sad to see these two banks which used to be rate leaders fall to the bottom.

If you're looking for a savings account with a history of top rates from strong institution, refer to my short list of top savings accounts that I posted in August. Four savings accounts that made my short list have remained very competitive. Rates have fallen for three of these four accounts, but they still remain near the top.

Rate Hikes:
  1. None
Rate Drops:
  1. American Express Savings - 1.50% (was 1.70%)
  2. WTDirect Savings - 1.41% (was 1.51%)
  3. iGObanking Savings - 1.31% (was 1.41%)
  4. Intervest MMA - 1.30% $2.5K (was 1.32%)
  5. Union Federal Savings - 1.25% (was 1.40%)
  6. Citibank Ultimate Savings - 1.01% (was 1.15%)
  7. Flagstar MMA - 0.50% (was 1.09%)
Certificate of Deposit Rates

I'm happy to see ING Direct continuing to offer 2% APY on its 12-month CD. For longer terms, two New York banks continue to offer good nationwide deals. Emigrant Bank is still offering 2.25% APY for 16 months at Dollar Savings Direct. It's not listed on their website, but I called today and confirmed the rate. The other New York bank is Hudson City Savings which has good deals on terms from 2 to 5-years.

CD rates continue to fall, but there was one bright spot. Northwest FCU raised its CD rates last week. Its 60-month CD is especially competitive with a rate up to 3.75% APY for a $100K minimum. An additional 0.25% is added for certain relations. The credit union also has a 2-year add-on CD with a 2.39% APY. Add-on CDs can be especially helpful to hedge against the risk of rates staying low (see post).

I checked with my PenFed contact again this week, and new higher long-term CD rates are still planned for January. These include a 3.75% APY 5-year CD, 3.50% APY 4-year CD and a 3.25% APY 3-year CD. For those with PenFed CDs that mature in January, you'll be able to get an additional 0.25% as a renewal bonus.

Both PenFed and Northwest FCU have a reasonable early withdrawal penalty of 6-months of interest for their long-term CDs (excluding the 7-year term). Two banks with similar early withdrawal penalties include OneWest Bank and Discover Bank.

Be careful with some banks that offer top long-term CD rates. They can have a much more severe penalty. One example is Capital One Bank which has a convoluted long-term penalty that involves what they call an Economic Replacement Value. Intervest Bank's penalty is clear, but it's severe: half of the interest of the term of the CD. For a 5-year CD, that's 30 months of interest.

As I described in my recent OneWest CD review, a long-term CD with a mild early withdrawal penalty can be better than sticking with short-term CDs. Rates can be higher even if you break the long-term CD early. If the interest rate environment doesn't improve, you benefit from the higher long-term rate.

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

Best Nationwide CD Deals as of 12/19/09: Also listed are savings account promos with rate guarantee periods. The full list of nationwide CD rates is farther down.
  1. 2.51% 3-mo money market/checking promo at EverBank (account review)
  2. 1.50% money market with rate guaranteed to Apr 2010 at Bank of America (account review)
  3. 1.77% 10-mo CD at EBSB Direct (account review)
  4. 2.42% 12-mo CD at Wings Financial CU, Limited Membership (account review)
  5. 2.10% 12-mo CD at Alliant CU (account review)
  6. 2.00% 12-mo CD at ING Direct (account review)
  7. 2.25% 16-mo CD at Dollar Savings Direct (account review)
  8. 2.39% 24-mo Add-On CD at Northwest FCU (account review)
  9. 3.00% 30-mo CD at Indus American Bank (account review)
  10. 3.03% 36-mo CD at Goldwater Bank (account review)
  11. 3.00% 45-mo CD at Reliabank Dokota (account review)
  12. 3.15% 48-mo CD at Hudson City Savings Bank (account review)
  13. 3.75% 60-mo CD ($100K min) at Northwest FCU (account review)
  14. 3.65% 60-mo CD at Melrose CU (account review)
  15. 3.60% 60-mo CD at Apple FCU (account review)
  16. 3.40% 60-mo CD at Hudson City Savings Bank (account review)
  17. 4.16% 84-mo CD (min $175K) at USAA Bank (account review)
  18. 4.00% 84-mo CD at Pentagon FCU (account review)
Best Local CD Deals as of 12/19/09: 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. 1.90% Savings Account (5% for 1st $1K) at OMNIBANK in TX (account review)
  2. 2.12% 6-mo CD & 2.42% 12-mo CD at Wings Financial CU in MN (account review)
  3. 2.00% 6-mo CD at Mutual Federal Bank in Chicago (account review)
  4. 2.00% 6-mo CD at Vision Bank in Dallas (account review)
  5. 3.00% 7-mo CD at NIH FCU in MD & DC - Limited Membership (account review)
  6. 2.00% 9-mo CD & 2.18% 18-mo CD at United Orient Bank in NYC (account review)
  7. 2.00% 11-mo CD at Colonial Bank Branches of BB&T in TX, FL & NV (account review)
  8. 2.45% 12-mo CD at Bank of Granite in NC (account review)
  9. 2.25% 12-mo & under CD at Cecil Bank in MD (account review)
  10. 2.10% 12-mo CD at First Choice Bank in LA Metro Area (account review)
  11. 2.50% 15-mo CD & 2.26% 9-mo CD at The Farmers Bank in TN (account review)
  12. 2.30% 16-mo Jumbo CD at Teachers FCU in NY (account review)
  13. 2.75% 18-mo CD & 4% 60-mo CD at Greylock FCU in MA (account review)
  14. 2.50% 18-mo No-Penalty CD at Darby Direct in GA (account review)
  15. 2.07% 18-mo CD at Signature Bank in NY (account review)
  16. 2.50% 23-mo CD at Regions Bank in Many States (account review)
  17. 4.06% 48-mo CD & 2.50% 24-mo CD at Founders FCU in SC/NC (account review)
  18. 3.50% 48-mo CD at Terrabank in Miami (account review)
  19. 4.07% 60-mo CD at IH Mississippi Valley CU in IL & IA (account review)
  20. 4.00% 60-mo CD at PFFCU in Philadelphia (account review)
  21. 3.80% 60-mo & 3.29% 48-mo CD at PrimeWay FCU in Houston (account review)
  22. 3.60% 60-mo Jumbo CD at CEFCU in CA & IL (account review)
  23. 3.50% 60-mo CD at First Priority CU in MA (account review)
Reward Checking Accounts

I reported on six new reward checking accounts this week with yields ranging from 2.75% to 4.00%. The 2.75% yield is being offered by Pacific Mercantile Bank which has several branches in Southern California. The 2.75% is low for reward checking, but the rate applies to balances up to $100K which is much better better than most reward checking accounts which cap the top rate at $25K.

Reward checking is one of the few options these days where you can still earn a decent rate. However, it's easy to miss the monthly requirements if you're not careful. I described one reader's problem with his debit card purchases that were made near the end of the cycle.

To see all of the high yield reward checking accounts available throughout the nation, please refer to the reward checking section of DepositAccounts.com.
Recap for the Week - Links to This Week's Posts

Banking News

Savings/Checking 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 under $100,000. 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 December 19, 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)

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

scott (anonymous) - #1, Saturday, December 19, 2009 - 5:02 PM

Hoping your contact at PenFed is reliable, have some money I want to lock up and will wait for those rates from them. Strange seeing rates go up but I guess with them offering such great rates 3 years ago they need new money to replace amounts people take out.


1
Banking Guy

Banking Guy (anonymous) - #2, Sunday, December 20, 2009 - 6:04 AM

Yup, I'm hoping also. PenFed does have some history of offering good long-term CD deals in January. It was three years ago that they offered those 6.25% CDs for terms of 3 to 7 years. I was able to put some money in those, but I only chose 3-year terms. Now I regret not putting any in the longer terms.


1
Bozo

Bozo (anonymous) - #3, Sunday, December 20, 2009 - 10:58 AM

It is nice to see 5 year CD rates nudging back to at or near 4%. There did seem to be a major disconnect over the last few months. While the 10 year Treasury kept moving up, the 5 year CDs seemed to remain static or even move down (StateFarmBank comes to mind, whose 5 yr went from 3.16 to 2.8). Having the option of moving a maturing State Farm IRA CD to Northwest FCU or PenFed next August will be nice, since 4% or even 3.75% beats 2.8% the last I checked. Both Northwest and PenFed have the "no penalty" withdrawals at 59 1/2 (as with StateFarm), so you can stretch for yield without sacrificing liquidity.

That's nice.

Bozo


1
ichaelm

ichaelm (anonymous) - #4, Sunday, December 20, 2009 - 12:14 PM

Banking guy, I'd be curious to know how many bank accounts you have and which account has the highest balance. (In other words, where you store your BT money.) In fact, I'd be curious to know this of all regular BankDeals readers. I presently have 42 checking or savings accounts with 31 banks and CU's. 28 of the 31 paid me bonuses for opening accounts with them. I stash my BT money in my (presently 2.00%) savings account with Solera Bank. At one time, I had 10 accounts with BOA alone.


1
Anonymous

Anonymous - #5, Sunday, December 20, 2009 - 12:36 PM

Amex lowered rate on personal savings. Getting rid of igobanking since rates are way too low at the EOM.

1.70 to 1.50% is a huge drop. Banks start with high rates then sharply lower.

Looking for a new alternative.


1
Anonymous

Anonymous - #6, Sunday, December 20, 2009 - 3:11 PM

I was just ready to opened an acct with Amex with a considerable amount of $$. And just this past Wednesday my local bank offered a savings account paying 1.55%. For just .15 more that Amex was offering (1.70%), I stayed local. Now I'm glad I did seeing that Amex just lowered their rate to 1.50%.

I did put my local bank on notice.
If they play bait and switch to a lower rate, I will be the one doing the switching. (Switching banks that is)


1
Anonymous

Anonymous - #7, Sunday, December 20, 2009 - 9:46 PM

With an investment of $250,000 (maximum insured amount) X .0015 comes out to $375 more for the year. Not much, but I guess it should cover one month's heating bill.


1
Anonymous

Anonymous - #8, Monday, December 21, 2009 - 8:26 AM

True, but the point is mute, at least for Amex, now that they lowered their interest rate to 1.50%.


1
Anonymous

Anonymous - #9, Tuesday, December 22, 2009 - 12:26 AM

But if you move it instead to Alliant or Shore bank right now, you would end up with even more than $375 (as long as their rates hold).


1
Anonymous

Anonymous - #10, Tuesday, December 22, 2009 - 9:34 PM

And how long will those rates last?

I play the rate chasing game only with the many CDs in my CD ladder as they mature.
Continually rate chasing for savings is not for me, especially when most are subject to "change without notice". I have better things to do while enjoying my retirement.

I'm not saying it's foolish. It's just not for me.


1
Anonymous

Anonymous - #11, Tuesday, December 22, 2009 - 11:14 PM

Staying at Amex personal savings. I also use GE Interest Advantage and maintain a Capital One account with $1 in it since I got $225.00 just by maintaining the account so I keep it open. Has proved good to me.

Refuse to use Ford Interest Advantage because of fear of risk factor which is too risky for my taste. With GE, I don't keep much in so the risk is minimal to me.

Staying with Amex. Capital One which I also have a Checking account with has a higher rate but much more restrictive policies in tow.

Right now I can push funds next day with Amex so I am not moving my funds to any other higher rate accounts. Staying at Amex for the forseeable future.

All new funds are going into HSBC Direct @ 1.35% APY which is my local bank. Also keeping Amex @ 1.50% and GE Interest Plus @ 1.9x percent give or take. Plus the $1 kept in the Capital One account.

My Igobanking accounts will be closed at the END of the month. No need for lower rates than HSBC Direct with worse fund availability policies plus no ability to ATM Deposit like HSBC.

Tried to meet a woman who allegedly married and I was hoping she was going to contact me back and Im just really depressed and have been for weeks since I think she married but Im still not sure.

I said I was not going to be here anymore, and none of the information really helps me anymore but I needed a place to vent considering Im sick of dealing with people I come across in real life usually and the nice ones who I think are nice I never wind up meeting.

Really have nothing to live for these days. Money is tight, got hurt, not going to slave for someone else and be their bitch slave. Promised that a gun is the answer when people get in your face to defend your own personal interests.

Cest la vie.


1
Anonymous

Anonymous - #12, Friday, January 1, 2010 - 10:29 PM

Tell me about it. I chatted someone online who turned out to be a fraud. Many use the Net as a mask to play games. One thing that I am glad about. I graduated back in the 1970s from college so don't have to deal with this bad job market. I am close to retirement and can control when I do retire.


1

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