Best Bank Account Interest Rates - Summary for Week Ending June 23, 2012

There was another Fed FOMC meeting this week with another disappointment for savers waiting for a glimmer of light of higher rates. The FOMC decided to continue Operation Twist through the end of the year which is intended to reduce longer-term interest rates. With long-term interest rates already at record lows, I don't know why the FOMC thinks this will provide any extra boost to the economy. Unfortunately, it seems the only tools the FOMC has in its attempts to help the economy are actions that pushes interest rates down, and based on the FOMC's economic projections, the economy needs help. According to Calculated Risk blog:

The bigger story was the sharp downward revision in the FOMC projections – mostly below the levels of the January projections when it appeared the FOMC was moving towards QE3 (before the stronger payroll reports for January and February). The FOMC projections show the unemployment rate well above the Fed’s target for years, and the inflation rate below the Fed’s target rate.

Even with the downward revisions in the FOMC projections, most Treasury yields rose slightly this week. The summary of Treasury yields and the expectation of future Fed funds rates are shown below. Numbers are based on Yahoo bond rate data and the CME Group FedWatch.

Treasury Yields:

• 6-month: 0.13% same as last week
• 2--year: 0.30% up from 0.27% last week
• 5--year: 0.75% up from 0.67% last week
• 10-year: 1.68% up from 1.57% last week
• 30-year: 2.76% up from 2.68% last week

Fed funds futures' probability of rate hike by:

• Jul 2014: 46% up from 41% last week

The FDIC had a quiet week with no bank failures. This year's total number of bank failures remains at 31.

Savings & Checking Account Rates

The big savings account news this week was the large rate hike at SmartyPig. Its savings account yield increased from 0.70% to 1.00% APY for balances up to $50K. After its rate plummeted in December to 0.70%, I didn't think we would see a rate hike this year.

Another internet bank had a rate hike this week. CNB Bank Direct raised its online savings account rate from 0.70% to 0.80%. This isn't a big enough rate hike to get excited about, but any rate hikes in today's awful interest rate environment is good news.

EverBank's 6-month intro rate of 1.25% continues to be tied with TIAA Direct as the top savings/money market account rate. TIAA Direct has been offering 1.25% APY (without a rate guarantee) on its savings and money market accounts for 18 weeks. Hopefully, the competition of EverBank will encourage TIAA Direct to hold steady. Please refer to this blog post to read my TIAA Direct review and the comments of readers' experiences.

Reward Checking Accounts

Two reward checking accounts on my nationwide list lowered their rates this week.

The first cut was at Bank of Blue Valley which lowered its top yield from 2.00% to 1.50% APY for balances up to $25K. This also has the very unusal requirement of monthly debit card purchases that total at least $1,000 to qualify for this rate. Even before this rate cut, this account wasn't appealing due to this requirement.

The second cut was at Avidia Bank which lowered its top yield from 1.51% to 1.36% for balances up to $25K.

Some of these reward checking account rates are dropping so low that they are losing their appeal as a replacement for internet savings accounts. With TIAA Direct continuing to offer 1.25% APY on all balances without any monthly requirements, it's hard to justify a reward checking account with rates under 2.00%.

To find the highest reward checking rates and balance caps in your area, please refer to our reward checking rate table. This can be used to find accounts available nationwide and accounts with higher rates in your state. If you're new to these tables, my new rate table guide should be useful, and if you're new to reward checking, my blog post, 10 Common Traits of High-Yield Reward Checking, should also be useful.

New Additions:

1. SmartyPig Savings - 1.00% ($50K max) [was 0.70%]

Removals:

1. HSBC Online Savings - 0.50% (too low) [was 0.80%]

Rate Hikes:

1. CNB Bank Direct - 0.80% [was 0.70%]

Rate Cuts:

1. Bank of Blue Valley Reward Checking - 1.50% (up to $25K) [was 2.00%]
2. Avidia Bank Reward Checking - 1.36% (up to $25K) [was 1.51%]

Certificate of Deposit Rates

My recap of CD rate changes and the list of CD deals will now be in my survey of the best CD rates. This recap will now focus on banking news of the week and liquid accounts.

Recap for the Week - Links to This Week's Posts

Banking News/Resources

• Checking Account Disclosure at Some Banks Require Customers To Pay All Costs in Legal Disputes
• Will We See More Accommodation from the Fed?
• PenFed's New ACH Online Transfer Service
• 8 Ways to Cut Costs in Retirement

Savings/MMA - National

• SmartyPig Savings Account Yield Increases to 1.00%
• Best Liquid Account? Money Market, Savings or Checking Account
• Internet Banks With Small ACH Transfer Limits

CD Deals/Resources - National

• Survey of the Best CD Rates for June 22, 2012

Checking/Savings/CC Bonuses

• No new posts

Reward Checking Accounts

• No new posts

CD and Money Market Deals - Local

• Competitive Long-Term CD Rates at The MINT National Bank in Texas - Local Only

Posts from Previous Weeks

• Archive of 2012 Posts

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.

Rates as of June 23, 2012

Checking/Savings/Money Market Accounts:

• Best Savings Account Rates (Nationwide & by State)
• Best Money Market Rates (Nationwide & by State)
• Best Checking Account Rates (Nationwide & by State)

• How to View Rates for Your State

• Noteworthy Accounts Available Nationwide:

• TIAA Direct - 1.25% MMA/Savings account review
• EverBank - 1.25% MMA/Checking (6mo intro rate) 0.76% ongoing rate, account review
• MyBankingDirect - 1.15% (min $5K) promo rate
• UFB Direct (BofI Federal) - 1.15% MMA account review
• CIT Bank - 1.05% ($25K) 0.90% ($0) Savings, account review
• SmartyPig - 1.00% ($50K max), account review
• Barclays - 1.00% Savings account review
• Acacia Federal - 1.00% Metro Checking, account review
• Acacia Federal - 1.00% MMA (min $25K), account review
• Incredible Bank - 0.95% MMA ($2.5K min) account review
• SFGI Direct - 0.91% account review
• One United Bank - 0.90% ($100K) 0.85% ($1K) E-Money Market
• ING Direct - 0.90% ($100K) 0.85% ($50K) Electric Orange Checking
• Incredible Bank - 0.88% Checking ($1K min) account review
• Clear Sky Accounts - 0.85% (max $250K) account review
• Colorado Federal Savings Bank - 0.85% ($2.5K min) account review
• Sallie Mae Bank - 0.85% MMA account review
• American Express Bank - 0.85%, account review
• Ally Bank - 0.84% MMA/savings
• CNB Bank Direct - 0.80% account review
• Alliant Credit Union - 0.80% (min $100) Savings [falls to 0.80% June 1st] account review
• Discover Bank - 0.80% Savings (min $500) account review
• ING Direct - 0.80% Orange Savings
• UFB Direct (BofI Federal) - 0.80% Savings account review
• Nationwide Bank - 0.76% MMA (min $1K)
• Alliant Credit Union - 0.75% Checking (req's elec. dep & e-stmts) [falls to 0.75% June 1st] account review
• Sallie Mae Bank - 0.75% Savings account review
• Salem Five Direct - 0.75% savings

Reward Checking Accounts:

• Best Reward Checking Account Rates for a $10,000 Balance - Nationally Available
• Best Reward Checking Account Rates for a $25,000 Balance - Nationally Available

• How to View Rates for Your State

• Noteworthy Accounts Available Nationwide:

• Consumers Credit Union - 4.09% (up to $10K) 0.20% ($10K-$25K) 0.10% ($25K+) [scheduled to fall to 3.09% up to $5K in July]
• Lake Michigan Credit Union - 3.00% (up to $15K) 0.00% ($15K+)
• ABCO Federal Credit Union - 2.52% (up to $25K) 0.50% ($25K+)
• Pacific Resource Credit Union - 2.27% (up to $15K) 0.50% ($15K+)
• Provident Credit Union - 2.26% (up to $25K) 0.21% ($25K+)
• BankFirst Financial Services - 2.00% (up to $50K) 0.50% ($50K+)
• INOVA Federal Credit Union - 2.00% (up to $20K) 0.15% ($20K+)
• Community Bank of Pleasant Hill - 1.75% (up to $10K) 0.50% ($10K+)
• Community Bank of Raymore - 1.75% (up to $10K) 0.50% ($10K+)
• Connexus Credit Union - 1.75% (up to $25K) 0.50% ($25K+) Xtraordinary Checking
• Heritage Bank - 1.71% (up to $25K) 0.10% ($25K+)
• First New England Federal Credit Union - 1.52% (up to $15K) 0.10% ($15K+) (extra 1% w/relationship)
• North Country Savings Bank - 1.50% (up to $50K) 0.75% ($50K+)
• Legence Bank - 1.50% (up to $25K) 0.25% ($25K+)
• Bank of Blue Valley - 1.50% (up to $25K) 0.20% ($25K+), $1K/month debit card req (account review)
• Avidia Bank - 1.36% (up to $25K) 0.05% ($25K+)
• West Texas National Bank - 1.26% (up to $25K) 0.25% ($25K+)
• Bank of Internet USA - 1.25% (all balances)
• State Bank of Toledo - 1.00% (up to $25K) 0.15% ($25K+)

Certificates of Deposit:

• Best CD Rates (Nationwide & by State)
• Best IRA CD Rates (Nationwide & by State)

• How to View Rates for Your State

• Survey of the Best CD Rates for June 22, 2012 (Nationwide & Local)

Various Deposit Account Deals

• Bank Promotions
• Best IRA CD rates, local and nationwide deals
• Latest CD and Savings Account Deals with No Major Deposit Limitiations

Bank Account Alternatives - NOT FDIC Insured

• Duke Energy PremierNotes - 1.60% rate for $50K+, Duke Energy PremierNotes review
• Ford Interest Advantage - 1.10% rate for $50k+, Ford Interest Advantage review
• GE Interest Plus - 1.10% rate for $50k+
• Vanguard Tax-Exempt Money Market Fund - 0.06% 7-day yield
• Vanguard Prime Money Market Fund - 0.04% 7-day yield
• Fidelity Money Market Fund - 0.01% 7-day yield (reviews on Fatwallet)
• Fidelity Municipal Money Market Fund - 0.01% 7-day yield
• TIAA-CREF Money Market Fund - 0.00% 7-day yield
• PayPal Money Market Fund has ended effective 7/29/11
• FW Thread on Treasury Bills
• Series I Savings Bond Purchases from May thru Oct 2012, I Bond Article, I Bonds as CD Alternatives

Historical Rates from the Federal Reserve (Federal funds, Treasury bills, CD's)