SHCU's CDs used to allow unlimited additional deposits, but SHCU ended this feature in 2008. One downside to these CDs is that the early withdrawal penalty is equal to half the term in interest. It's not too bad for the 1-year CD, but it's severe for the longer-term CDs. This would come out to 6 months of interest for a 1-year CD and 1 year of interest for the 2-year CD. Refer to SHCU's Truth-in-Savings disclosure for more CD details.
There have been some changes at SHCU since I first reported on this credit union in 2005. They now have two credit union charters: Self-Help Credit Union (SHCU) and Self-Help Federal Credit Union (SHFCU). To learn more about these credit unions and their missions, refer to these credit union FAQs.
Membership
One can open accounts at both SHCU and SHFCU by mail. Application forms are located at this page.
In the membership application forms, the following is stated:
Membership in the Credit Union is open to anyone who is, or becomes, a member of the Center for Community Self-Help. All new members of the Credit Union must pay $5 to purchase a membership share in the Credit Union. In addition, persons or organizations who join the Center for Community Self-Help must pay a $20 a membership fee to the Center for Community Self-Help.
People in any state can join. This is described in this Membership FAQ:
Can people or organizations from outside Self-Help locations in North Carolina, California, and Washington DC become members of Self-Help?
Yes. We currently have members from almost every state in the union. Members have access to any of our deposit products.
North Carolina and California Branches
For those who prefer to open accounts at a branch, SHCU and SHFCU now have full service branches in several cities in North Carolina and California. These branches do business under different credit union names, but they are all divisions of SHCU or SHFCU. This SHCU page has links to these credit union websites. Refer to these for branch locations. Most have their own rate tables which list the same rates as SHCU's website.
Financial/NCUA Info
SHCU's ratings for safety and soundness are little mixed: 3 stars (adequate) at BauerFinancial (based on 9/30/09 data) and 1 star (lowest) at Bankrate.com (based on 6/30/09 data). SHFCU was just established in 2008, so it doesn't yet have ratings. Both SHCU and SHFCU are federally insured by the NCUA (SHCU Charter # 66258 and SHFCU Charter # 24802).
Other Competitive Certificate of Deposit Rates
