Bank Deals Weekly Summary for May 8, 2010

Comments (1)
May 8, 2010 - 6:46 PM by Ken Tumin

The good news from yesterday's unemployment numbers is that 290,000 jobs were added in April with private employers adding 231,000 of those jobs, the most since March 2006. The bad news is that the unemployment rate actually increased (9.7% to 9.9%) as people returned to the workforce. Even when compared to previous recessions, unemployment is still very high. According to this AP news article

Many economists think it will take until at least the middle of the decade to lower the unemployment rate to a more normal 5.5 percent to 6 percent range.

High unemployment is likely to be an important factor for the Fed in its continuation of low interest rates. The expectations of a Fed rate hike for later this year have gone down from last week when the fed funds futures had a probability of over a 50% for a higher rate at the November FOMC meeting. It's now a 43% chance.

Four small banks failed on Friday. That brings the total number of failures for 2010 to 68. That's more than twice the number of failures as last year at this time (33). So if that pace continues, we'll be at 288 by the end of the year.

The most interesting failure this week wasn't a bank, but a credit union. The NCUA issued a May 1st press release which reported on the liquidation of St. Paul's Croatian FCU in Eastlake, Ohio. The credit union was liquidated only a week after it was put into conservatorship. The NCUA didn't find another credit union to take it over. Thus, the credit union was shut down with the NCUA mailing checks of insured deposits to members.

With many more banks and credit unions likely to fail this year, make sure you're aware of the latest deposit insurance rules and issues for both banks and credit unions.

Savings Account Rates

Just like last week, the number of rate cuts remain fairly low. That's a positive sign for us savers. However, we lost the last remaining nationwide 2% no-limit savings account this week. The rate of the Ready Saver account was cut from 2% to 1.75% APY. SmartyPig currently doesn't have any small balance limits for its 2% savings account, however, this is about to change on May 19th when those who have a balance over $50K will earn only 0.50% on their entire balance.

Rate Hikes:

  1. None

Rate Cuts:

  1. Ready Saver Savings - 1.75% (was 2.00%)
  2. Incredible Bank Checking - 1.53% (was 1.74%)
  3. Nationwide Bank MMA - 1.25% (was 1.30%)
  4. Bank of Internet HYS - 1.10% (was 1.30%)

Certificate of Deposit Rates

A few banks and credit unions cut their CD rates this week. Unfortunately, some of the cuts were from institutions that had been offering the highest rates. One is Fort Knox FCU which cut rates on its special CDs and its long-term CDs. Wings Financial, Northwest FCU and Northrop Grumman FCU also cut some of their CD rates.

On a positive note, Broadway Federal continues to offer a very competitive 2-year internet CD with a 2.53% APY. For long term CDs, RiverLand Credit Union continues to offer a 3.50% APY 5-year CD. It's now the only institution offering a rate this high for a nationwide 5-year CD.

It's not nationwide, but those in FL, GA, SC & NC are eligible to open a 3.50% APY 5-year internet CD at First Federal. I've listed this in the "noteworthy local accounts" in the 5-year CD section below.

Reward Checking Accounts

This week I looked back at four nationwide reward checking accounts that continue to pay 4% APY on balances of at least $25K. There used to be many more accounts on this list, but rates and balance caps have fallen. Also, several banks have reduced the availability to their local markets. Nevertheless, reward checking accounts continue to hold up better than internet savings accounts in this low interest-rate environment.

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 - Nationwide

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. 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 May 8, 2010

Checking/Savings/Money Market Accounts:

  • Noteworthy Accounts Available Nationwide:
  • Noteworthy Accounts - Local Only

3-Month Certificates of Deposit:

  • Noteworthy Accounts Available Nationwide:
  • Noteworthy Accounts - Local Only

6-Month Certificates of Deposit:

  • Noteworthy Accounts Available Nationwide:
  • Noteworthy Accounts - Local Only

9-Month Certificates of Deposit:

  • Noteworthy Accounts - Local Only

12-Month Certificates of Deposit:

  • Noteworthy Accounts Available Nationwide:
  • Noteworthy Accounts - Local Only

18-Month Certificates of Deposit:

  • Noteworthy Accounts Available Nationwide:
  • Noteworthy Accounts - Local Only

24-Month Certificates of Deposit:

  • Noteworthy Accounts Available Nationwide:
  • Noteworthy Accounts - Local Only

36-Month Certificate of Deposit:

  • Noteworthy Accounts Available Nationwide:
  • Noteworthy Accounts - Local Only

48-Month Certificate of Deposit:

  • Noteworthy Accounts Available Nationwide:
  • Noteworthy Accounts - Local Only

60-Month Certificate of Deposit:

  • Noteworthy Accounts Available Nationwide:
  • Noteworthy Accounts - Local Only

84-Month Certificate of Deposit:

  • Noteworthy Accounts - Local Only

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)


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tresho

tresho - #1, Tuesday, May 11, 2010 - 1:06 PM

   I used to have a Premier Money Market Plus account with Huntington Bank.  Some time between 4/26 (my last statement) and 5/6/2010, Huntington slashed the interest from 1.30% to 0.60% on the balance I was carrying.   This was not possible to find on their web site.  I had to send them a secure message through my account window to verify the change.   I called customer service to verify the news, it was true.  However, Huntington is still offering the higher rate only to new customers for this class of account - how long those customers will receive it is unknowable since Huntington makes it difficult for their accountholders to know (at any given moment) just what their APY really is, unlike other banks I use.

I found Huntington's approach unsatisfactory & am currently closing this account.


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