Survey of the Best CD Rates for November 30, 2012

Comments (15)
Nov 30, 2012 - 5:27 PM by Ken Tumin

Due to Thanksgiving last week, it has been two weeks since my last survey. There were some rate cuts, but it wasn't too bad considering two weeks had passed. However, with December starting tomorrow, we may see more cuts tomorrow and on Monday.

Update 12/1/2012: PenFed's CD rates changed in December:

  • 1.00% APY 1-year (was 1.26%)
  • 1.50% APY 2-year (was 1.36%)
  • 1.75% APY 3-year (was 1.61%)
  • 1.75% APY 4-year (was 1.61%)
  • 1.80% APY 5-year (was 1.71%)
  • 2.00% APY 7-year (was 2.02%)

The survey below has been updated with these new rates.

For the nationally available CDs, two cuts came from internet banks. Ally Bank had another rate cut of its 5-year CD. The APY fell from 1.64% to 1.61%. For those who like the small early withdrawal penalty that Ally offers (60 days of interest), you might want to consider Barclays' 5-year CD instead. The rate is higher (1.70% APY), and its early withdrawal penalty is only 90 days of interest. Ally would be a better deal if you can get the renewal bonus which offers an extra 25 basis points.

The other internet bank which cut CD rates is CIT Bank. Its Jumbo APY fell from 1.44% to 1.35%, and the regular APY fell from 1.42% to 1.30%. I'm glad CIT Bank's Achiever CD rates remain the same (1.10% APY for 1 year and 1.25% APY for 2 years). These allow for one add-on deposit and one rate bump during the term.

Its not an internet bank, but it allows people from any state to open CDs by mail. Its State Bank of India, New York, and its 5-year CD yield fell over the last two week from 1.81% to 1.61% APY. Due to the big rate cut, I removed it from the list. However, I added its sister bank in Chicago to the list. State Bank of India in Chicago is offering very competitive Jumbo 1-year and 3-year CD rates (1.16% and 1.51% APY). If you don't live in the Chicago area, you'll have to apply by mail.

I also added Green Bank CDs to the list. It's offering competitive rates on its 4-year and 5-year internet CDs (1.70% and 1.95% APY). Even though you can apply online, the bank requires you to mail a check to fund the CD.

That's one downside with many small banks and credit unions. Even though they may accept out-of-state deposits, they may not make it easy to apply and fund the account.

Local CD Deals

Just like the nationwide CDs, the rate cuts on the local deals weren't too bad. Hopefully, there won't be an uptick of cuts with the new month.

Two credit unions which had noteworthy cuts were Wings Financial and HAPO. All of Wings Financial CD rates fell by 10 basis points. Its 5-year CD APY is now 1.86%. HAPO Community Credit Union in Washington State cut its CD rates by 15 basis points. That took its 5-year CD rate below 2%.

Not all the rate changes were cuts. Doral Bank NY raised its 2-year CD APY from 1.30% to 1.40%. Another rate hike was at San Antonio Credit Union (SACU). Its 5-year and 7-year CD rates increased by 5 basis points. Its 10-year CD rates remained the same. Its Jumbo 10-year CD APY is 3.25% which is still the highest CD rate in the nation.

I'm happy to see BBVA Compass continues to offer a 2.00% APY 5-year CD. This has continued for most of this year. Its 2-year CD is also competitive with a 1.25% APY. If a customer opens a CompassLink Checking account, another 10 basis points is added to the CD rate. Even though BBVA Compass is a large bank, this is only a local deal since new customers have to live near one of the bank's branches. These are located in Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, New Mexico and Texas.

Long-Term CD Break Strategy

For the short-term CDs in my lists, you might notice CDs with the note "5-year CD closed after X years". These take into account the yield after the early withdrawal penalty is applied. Since Ally Bank's 5-year CD only has a 60-day interest penalty, it's still a good deal when closed early even with the recent rate cuts.

The risks of planning for early withdrawals of long-term CDs were recently highlighted by the deposit agreement change at Ally. The risks have also been seen at credit unions which have raised the early withdrawal penalties on existing CDs. I have more details in this blog post.

Note About the CD Survey

As I described in my rate table overview, you can use our CD rate tables to find the best rates for both nationally available CDs and local CDs. This CD survey blog posts are intended to highlight nationwide CD deals that may not be apparent in the tables. For example, I'll include the post-penalty yields of a few long-term CDs.

The CD survey blog posts are also intended to highlight the local CD deals that are available in large metro areas. There are many high CD rates, but most of these are at small banks in rural areas or at small credit unions with very narrow fields of membership. In these local CD surveys, my focus is on local CD deals that are in big cities or that are available in large areas of a state.

Yields Accurate as of November 30, 2012

Under 1-Year CD Rates

  • Noteworthy Local Deals

1-Year CD Rates

  • Noteworthy Local Deals

18-month CD Rates

  • Noteworthy Local Deals

2-Year CD Rates

  • Noteworthy Local Deals

3-Year CD Rates

  • Noteworthy Local Deals

4-Year CD Rates

  • Noteworthy Local Deals

5-Year CD Rates

  • Noteworthy Local Deals

Over 5-Year CD Rates

  • Noteworthy Local Deals

Note: All rates listed above are Annual Percentage Yields (APY) which factor in compounding.

Edit 12/1/2012: Updated SDFCU and PenFed rates due to rates that changed soon after post was published.


Tags: CD rates
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In order of date posted. - Sort by votes
cumulus

cumulus - #1, Friday, November 30, 2012 - 8:15 PM

State Department Federal Credit Union's 5-year
CD APY fell (from 1.96%) to 1.91% today.


4
Anonymous

Anonymous - #2, Saturday, December 1, 2012 - 2:05 AM

Cumulus............ So that's a drop of $500 interest a year on a $1,000,000 CD deposit, or $50 a year on a $100k deposit.  It's truly horrific. How will depositors cope? I can see some real lifestyle changes coming from this!  :)


4
KenBDG

KenBDG - #3, Saturday, December 1, 2012 - 5:30 AM

@cumulus, Thanks for the comment. I also noticed PenFed made rate changes for the new month. I've updated these in the post. I had considered waiting until Saturday to publish this post, but I figured we will likely see even more changes on Monday, the first business day of the month.


5
Anonymous

Anonymous - #4, Saturday, December 1, 2012 - 9:52 AM

Last week I opened a Penfed 3 yr at 1.61%.  Just opened another for 1.75% today.  Just don't kknow how they can raise rates in this enviroment


2
Maecl

Maecl - #5, Saturday, December 1, 2012 - 11:26 AM

Be careful when reading terms on early CD withdrawals.  My father (90) doesn't have the organizational skills he once had.  He misplaced or lost the notification that came in the mail in July from Webster Bank (In CT).  The 3 year CD renewed at .35%.  The penalty is 3% of the deposit $25.  So he would have to give the bank $3025.

We are waiting to hear if they will wave the penalty if my parents invest in some of the mutual funds they offer.  It is the only hope their money will be liquid and earn a higher rate or return.


3
Paoli2

Paoli2 - #6, Saturday, December 1, 2012 - 3:00 PM

Maeci:  This is one of my biggest concerns.  Elderly people who refuse to accept the fact that they do not have the ability to handle their financial business and institutions who take advantage of them.  Many seniors refuse to allow a family member to oversee their finances or do not have any one to take care of these things for them.  If I predecease my DP, I am certain he will not be able to handle our finances and he will have to pay for all the financial and accounting work I do for us.  Too bad the senior groups don't have someone who can be assigned to help seniors when they get to this point.  Finances are confusing enough to handle in our younger years so I am not surprised your father had this problem.  I do hope he will allow you to oversee things for him in the future so he will not be hit with high fees and have to take such low rates as a punishment for "forgetting".  If the institution refuses to waive the penalty, I would certainly not want to give them any more of my business.


2
Anonymous

Anonymous - #7, Sunday, December 2, 2012 - 10:58 AM

One thing I like with PENFED is that when you open the CD you can indicate that you want the CD closed and have the funds sent to another account or have a check mailed to you.


3
Paoli2

Paoli2 - #8, Sunday, December 2, 2012 - 3:14 PM

#7  I find your post interesting since when I opened our CD with Penfed, I was told the earliest we could inform them about closing out CD upon Maturity date would be one month before.  They also said we had to return the original CD to them to close it out. We do not live in their same state so it is our responsibility to get the CD to them and info to close before the Grace Period ends.  Were you told this or did I just get a rep who was not aware of their regulations? Thanks! 


1
Anonymous

Anonymous - #9, Sunday, December 2, 2012 - 3:29 PM

That's very strange #8.  As a long time PenFed member I have never had that problem closing their CDs at maturity.  In fact you can even go to your account on-line and change what you want to do with an existing CD at maturity.  IE. redeem it at maturity, renew it for the same term length or even a different term length.  And on occasion. I have called and gave specific instructions over the phone without ever returning the original paper CDs to them. 


1
Paoli2

Paoli2 - #10, Sunday, December 2, 2012 - 4:44 PM

#9  Would you please let me know what I have to click on once I login to the Penfed site in order to access the form where they allow us to show what we want to do with the CD at maturity?  I was just on Penfed and could not find how to get it.  I would like to see how it is marked on our CD.  Thank you so much for any help you can provide.


1
Anonymous

Anonymous - #11, Sunday, December 2, 2012 - 5:19 PM

Ok, I will try to guide you through the steps:

Log on to your account.

Under the ACCOUNTS heading, locate your MM Certificate.
Click on the little  symbol circled in blue on the left hand side.
The window will change showing you several choices on the right hand side.
Click on Certificate Options.
A window will open giving you several options on what to do with you MM Cert. upon maturity.
Click on you choice and then click on UPDATE just to the right of center at the bottom of the page. 

 I had just logged on to my account before posting this to be certain this process was still valid.

 


2
Anonymous

Anonymous - #12, Sunday, December 2, 2012 - 6:11 PM

I have opened 2 CD's in the past week.  On the online form you fill in it has a check area that allows you to select what actions are to be taken when it matures.  I select the send a check at maturity.  I have had CD's with PENFED since 2007 and have all my CD's set up that way.  When you get the paperwork that has to be signed in the mail it confirms what you selected online.  That's also when you can add a joint owner. 


1
Anonymous/Paoli

Anonymous/Paoli (anonymous) - #13, Sunday, December 2, 2012 - 6:59 PM

#11:  Thank you so much for the help.  However, I can't seem to Login to Penfed no matter what I try now.  I had a rep on the phone trying to help me and finally gave up.  It keeps telling me my password is incorrect no matter what I do.  I will try again tomorrow and use your helpful post to get to the info I want.  Much appreciation.  BTW, I did have an option about what to do about interest checks but that was not at Maturity.  It was for them being mailed to my address each month.  I may have missed the "At Maturity" option.


2
Anonymous/Paoli

Anonymous/Paoli (anonymous) - #14, Monday, December 3, 2012 - 10:00 AM

#11:  Thank you so much for the instructions.  I was able to redo my Login info and finally access Penfed. I followed your instructions and found the needed page.  It was already marked for them to close CD at Maturity and mail check to us.  I printed out the page for my records.  I appreciate the help.


2
Anonymous

Anonymous - #15, Monday, December 3, 2012 - 12:11 PM

Your welcome, Paoli. 

I am happy I was able to help you or anyone else out. 

I see by many of your comments you and I think alike.  I do not always agree 100%, as I am sure you would not agree with me 100% the time either.  That's only natural. 


2

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