Top 5-Year CD Rate at TDECU in Texas - Local Only

Texas Dow Employees Credit Union continues to offer some competitive CD rates. The short-term CD rates have gone down a little since my last report in November. However, the 5-year CD rate remains at 3.00% APY. Also, they continue to offer an additional 0.25% for Jumbo CDs with a $100K minimum. The standard CDs have a $1,000 minimum deposit. Some of the best standard CD rates as listed at the credit union's rates page as of 3/16/2011 include:

• 3.00% APY 5-year CD
• 2.30% APY 4-year CD
• 2.00% APY 3-year CD

Adding in the extra 0.25% for the Jumbo rates, makes all of the above CD rates very competitive.

How It Compares

As a comparison to the best CD rates available nationwide on 3/16/2011, the best 5-year CD rate is 2.93% APY at Melrose Credit Union. For a bank, the best 5-year CD rate is 2.80% APY at Sovereign Bank. The best 3-year CD rate is 2.27% APY at Velocity Credit Union. For a bank, the best 3-year CD rate is 2.00% APY at OneWest Bank.

Credit Union Membership

I couldn't find many details on the website regarding the credit union's membership eligibility. The only place I found it mentioned was on the first page of the online account application. At the bottom, you have to select your eligibility field of membership. Some of the options include:

• 10 mile radius Houston branch
• 10 mile radius LaPorte branch
• 10 mile radius Pearland branch
• 10 mile radius Texas City branch

There's also a long list of employers and organizations. It appears they're trying to broaden their reach beyond Dow Employees. As you can see on their website, the name TDECU is mostly used. Before applying, it would be a good idea to contact the credit union to ensure you are eligible.

The credit union has an overall health score at DepositAccounts.com of 3 stars (out of 5) with a Texas Ratio of 25.48% (average) based on December 2010 data. It's a large credit union with $1.59 billion in assets and $1.20 billion in deposits. Please refer to our financial overview of Texas Dow Employees Credit Union for more details. The credit union is federally insured by the NCUA (Charter # 60705).

Searching for the Best CD Rates

To search for the best nationwide CD rates and the best CD rates in your state, please refer to the CD rates section of DepositAccounts.com.