Very Competitive Mid-Term CD Rates for 11 States at MidFirst Direct

Yesterday I learned about MidFirst Direct, the internet division of MidFirst Bank. It offers a money market account, checking account and CDs with maturities of 3 months to 60 months. Both the money market account and checking account have low rates, but I was pleasantly surprised to see some very competitive CD rates. Compared to other internet banks, the best two are a 1.35% APY 1-year CD and a 1.40% APY 18-month CD. Below is a list of all of the competitive CD rates as listed at the MidFirst Direct CD page as of 9/11/2012:

• 1.35% APY 1-year CD
• 1.40% APY 18-month CD
• 1.45% APY 2-year CD
• 1.50% APY 3-year CD
• 1.55% APY 4-year CD
• 1.80% APY 5-year CD

Minimum deposit is $1,000, and the maximum deposit is $250,000.

The bank doesn't provide many CD details on the website. I had to call the bank's support number at 800-471-1001 (option 6) for the details. The CSR was helpful and knowledgeable. Below are some of the details I was told by the CSR:

• CDs are funded with a ACH transfer. Trial deposits are used to verify external account.
• Rate is locked at the time that you submit the application
• They allow beneficiaries with POD designation. However, this must be done by form after the account is opened.
• Early withdrawal penalty is 3 months of interest for terms under 12 months, 6 months of interest for terms of 12 to 24 months and 12 months of interest for terms over 24 months
• Grace period at maturity is 10 days
• When the CD matures, you can receive the funds by check or by wire transfer

Availability

There's an online application. However, not all states are accepted. I only found 11 states that were accepted. These states include AR, AZ, CA, FL, MO, NH, NV, NY, OK, TX, and WY. For the other states and D.C., I received a message like the following:

You selected Maine as your state of residence. MidFirst Direct is not currently available in Maine.

Hopefully, more states will be added in the future. If you find another state that's accepted, please leave a comment. It's also possible that they could cut back on the available states. If you find any of the above 11 states are no longer accepted, also please leave a comment.

Bank Overview

MidFirst Bank branches are located in the Phoenix metro area of Arizona and in several cities of Oklahoma including Yukon, Oklahoma City, Shawnee and Tulsa.

MidFirst Bank is a sizable bank with $9.84 billion in assets. The bank has an overall health score of 4 stars (out of 5) with a Texas Ratio of 19.58% (average) based on June 2012 data. Please refer to our financial overview of MidFirst Bank for more details. The bank has been a FDIC member since 1934 (FDIC Certificate # 4063).

How These Rates Compare

These 1-year and 18-month CD rates easily top the best rates available nationwide. The highest 1-year CD rate is 1.11% APY at AlosStar Bank of Commerce and the highest 18-month CD rate is 1.12% APY at MetLife Bank. These rates are accurate as of 9/11/2012.

Searching for Top CD Rates

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