American Plus Bank, N.A. continues to offer competitive rates on its short-term and mid-term CDs. These include a 1.64% APY 6-month CD, a 1.90% APY 12-month CD and a 2.27% APY 24-month CD. Minimum deposit is $1,000. These rates are listed at the bank's rates page as of the morning of 1/29/2010.
The bank also has competitive rates on its tiered-rate money market and savings accounts. As of 1/29/2010, the top rate is 1.78% APY in the savings account with a balance of at least $10,000. Last year the top rates were 1.88% APY in November and 2.08% APY in July so it has a history of competitive rates. The savings account requires a minimum balance of $300 to avoid monthly service charges.
It appears that a branch visit is required to open an account. It's a small two-office bank that was recently established in 2007. Its headquarters is located in Arcadia, California. The bank appears to have recently opened a branch at Rowland Heights.
The bank's ratings for safety and soundness are above average: 4 stars (excellent) at BauerFinancial and 3 stars (performing) at Bankrate.com. Both ratings are based on 9/30/09 financial data. The bank is a member FDIC (FDIC Certificate # 58469).
I received an email this morning from a reader who asked about the highest CD rate available in Southern California. The reader had a 5-year CD that was maturing, and she wanted to roll it over into another local CD. For those with CD ladders, it's depressing to have to roll over 5-year CDs in this interest rate environment. You might think it's unwise to go with a long-term CD these days, but if you believe in the CD ladder strategy, buying long-term CDs is still reasonable. Three years ago, 5-year CDs didn't seem to make much sense vs. short-term CDs. Those who stuck with their CD ladder strategy back then are probably glad they did.
One local option she had already found was OneWest Bank's 5-year CD that's currently paying 3.30% APY. The nice thing about OneWest's 5-year CD is that it has a reasonable 6-month early withdrawal penalty (some banks have much harsher penalties).
She preferred to bank locally, so PenFed's 3.50% APY 60-month CD and Ally Bank's long-term low-penalty CDs weren't options.
I took a look at the CD rates at DepositAccounts, and I was pleasantly surprised to find a SoCal CD rate higher than what OneWest was offering (banks listed without the US map are local deals). Most of the rates at DepositAccounts are updated automatically, so I'm often surprised by what I find. Each bank in the DepositAccounts tables links to the DepositAccounts' hub for the bank where you can find basic overview info, rates and links to related blog posts.
The CD that I found is at Broadway Federal Bank which is offering several CD specials. The highest rate of the CD specials is a 3.56% APY 72-month CD as of 1/27/2010. Here's the DepositAccounts hub for Broadway Federal.
Broadway Federal Bank has an online application, but the longest CD term it lists is the 24-month CD. A branch visit may be required for the longer terms. Branches are located in Los Angeles and Inglewood.
Broadway Federal's ratings for safety and soundness are above average: 4 stars (excellent) at BauerFinancial and 3 stars (performing) at Bankrate.com. Both ratings are based on 9/30/09 financial data. The bank has been a FDIC member since 1947 (FDIC Certificate # 30306).
A branch visit is required to open an account. Most of the branches are located in Ohio and Indiana. The FDIC also shows branches in several other states including California and Arizona. These are the branches that First Financial acquired when Irwin Union Bank failed in September.
First Financial Bank's ratings for safety and soundness are a little above average: 4 stars (excellent) at BauerFinancial (based on 9/30/09 data) and 3 stars (performing) at Bankrate.com (based on 6/30/09 data). The bank has been a FDIC member since 1934 (FDIC Certificate # 6600).
Other Competitive Certificate of Deposit Rates
- CD rates at DepositAccounts.com (overview of DepositAccounts.com)
- My weekly list of hot nationwide and local CD deals
- Open any new personal checking account
- First recurring direct deposit must be posted to your account within 60 calendar days of your account opening date
- The 10 bill payments must occur within 60 calendar days of your account opening date
- Bonus will be credited to your account within 60 days after satisfaction of conditions
- Offer valid for a new personal checking account opened from with $100 or more from a financial institution other than Bank of the West
- Offer does not apply to second or multiple checking accounts and/or existing checking customers
- Limit of one $100 bonus per household per calendar year
- Value of the offer reported to the IRS on Form 1099
A few readers shared their experience with this bonus last year. If you participated in this promotion last year, please leave a comment about how it went. Hopefully, the bonuses were paid without problems.
Branches are located throughout the Western and Midwestern states including Oklahoma, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, Colorado, Arizona, Nevada, Wyoming, Washington, Oregon and California. The bank has been a FDIC member since 1934 (FDIC Certificate # 3514).
Thanks to the reader who emailed me news of this new promotion.
Online Savings Account
Bank of the West continues to offer an online savings account with the competitive yield of 1.50% APY for balances of $10K and above as of 1/14/2010. This is the same rate when I posted on this account last August. Unfortunately, 1.50% is now competitive for online savings accounts. However, the rate is low for balances under $10K (0.50%). In August I was told by the CSR that there's a $2/month fee if the balance falls below $300. Another downside is that their ACH bank-to-bank transfer service has a transfer limit of $2,000 per day.
Other Bank Bonuses and Online Savings Accounts
To find other bonus deals, please refer to my bank bonus page which has all of my recent bank bonus posts. Refer to my weekly rate summary and the savings account section of DepositAccounts.com for the best nationwide savings account rates.
Membership is open to those who live, work, worship, volunteer or attend school in Los Angeles County, California. Membership is also open to anyone who lives or works in Lake Havasu City, Arizona through Havasu Community Credit Union (a division of LA Financial CU). Please refer to LA Financial CU's membership page and Havasu Community CU's membership page for more details. A minimum $5 balance is required in the savings account to maintain membership.
Branches are located in Los Angeles, Pasadena and Norwalk, CA, and in Lake Havasu, AZ.
The credit union's ratings for safety and soundness are a little weak: 3 stars (adequate) at BauerFinancial (based on 9/30/09 data) and 1 star (lowest) at Bankrate.com (based on 6/30/09 data). The ratings were 1 star higher last January. The credit union is federally insured by the NCUA (Charter # 2024).
Other Top CD Rates for California
I've reported on a few good CD deals this week at banks and credit unions in Southern California. You can find these in my California bank deals page. To find nationwide CD deals or CD deals in other states, please refer to the following:
- CD rates at DepositAccounts.com
- My weekly list of hot nationwide and local CD deals
In addition to EDS employees, membership is open to persons who live or work in Collin County, Texas. Also, eligible are persons who live, work, worship or attend school within a 10-mile radius of certain EDS Credit Union locations. For more details on eligibility, please refer to the credit union's How to Join page. In the online application, many of the eligibility details are listed in a form. The easiest way to find out about eligibility and to learn about the best way to apply is to call their toll-free number at 800-337-3328 (Option 5).
Branches are located in Plano, Frisco and Carrollton, Texas; Santa Ana, California; Auburn Hills, Pontiac, Detroit and Troy, Michigan; Camp Hill, Pennsylvania; Herndon and Sterling, Virginia. Note, several branches are inside secure buildings (probably EDS facilities) and have limited access.
EDS Credit Union's ratings for safety and soundness are above average: 4 stars (excellent) at BauerFinancial (based on 9/30/09 data) and 3 stars (performing) at Bankrate.com (based on 6/30/09 data). The Bankrate rating is down by one star since my October post. The credit union is federally insured by the NCUA (Charter # 68505).
Other Competitive Certificate of Deposit Rates
I'm afraid it's hard to find CD rates of 2% or higher for terms under one year. For a federally insured institution, the best nationwide deal I know about is 1.77% APY for a 10-month CD at EBSB Direct (see my weekly rate summary). For other top CD rates, please refer to:
- CD rates at DepositAccounts.com
- My weekly list of hot nationwide and local CD deals
- Unlimited deposits of at least $1,000, up to a maximum balance of $95,000
- Six withdrawals are allowed within the term (in any amount of $1,000 or more)
If you don't live near a branch, you may also want to open Wilshire State's free checking account. You can then use another bank's ACH service to transfer money in and out of this account. With this checking account, you should then be able to move money in and out of the Flex CD without a branch visit.
If you want Wilshire State Bank's eLink Savings Account, the free checking won't qualify. You'll need at least the Regular Checking which has a $500 minimum balance requirement to avoid a monthly service charge. The eLink Savings Account is paying 1.50% APY on all balances as of 1/05/2010.
Wilshire State Bank is one of the few banks that offers an Installment Savings Account. It's called the Rainbow Savings. Its rates have fallen since my last Wilshire post, but they remain fairly competitive: 3.05% APY for 12 months to 3.82% APY for 36 months as of 1/05/2010. To see how these compare to regular CD and savings account rates, please refer to my Installment Savings Account review.
When I contacted Wilshire State Bank last year, I was told that the accounts which have the online application can be opened by people in any state. After you submit the application online, you have to print and mail the form. They'll send you a signature card to complete.
Wilshire State Bank is Korean-American bank with branches in Southern California, New York, New Jersey and Dallas, Texas. A reader in my June post commented that "Wilshire Blvd is one of the main streets in Koreatown in Los Angeles, hence the name."
The bank's ratings for safety and soundness are strong: 4 stars (excellent) at BauerFinancial (based on 9/30/09 data) and 4 stars (sound) at Bankrate.com (based on 6/30/09 data). The bank has been a FDIC member since 1980 (FDIC Certificate # 23301).
Other Competitive Certificate of Deposit Rates
- CD rates at DepositAccounts.com
- My weekly list of hot nationwide and local CD deals
Membership eligibility is primarily employer based. Eligible employers include most schools in Southern California. Refer to the credit union's membership page for further details. There is a $15 one-time membership fee which seems expensive since it can be done online. A minimum $5 deposit in your share savings account is required for membership.
Branches are located throughout Southern California including the cities of Anaheim, Irvine, Cerritos, Fullerton, Cypress, San Bernardino and Santa Ana.
SchoolsFirst FCU's ratings for safety and soundness are above average: 4 stars (excellent) at BauerFinancial (based on 9/30/09 data) and 3 stars (performing) at Bankrate.com (based on 6/30/09 data). The credit union is federally insured by the NCUA (Charter # 24212).
Other Competitive Certificate of Deposit Rates
- CD rates at DepositAccounts.com
- My weekly list of hot nationwide and local CD deals
- Open a Signature Banking Checking account by 1/31/10
- Establish two qualifying services for $200
- Establish one qualifying services for $100
- Qualifying services include 1) monthly direct deposit, 2) three online bill payments to three different payees, beginning the month after account opening 3) five debit card purchases or payments per month
- Valid for new customers with funds not presently on deposit with Union Bank
- Bonus will be deposited by 4/30/10 into the Signature Checking account which must be active and in good standing
- Limit one offer per household
- Bonus reported as interest paid for tax purposes
I noticed the bank's Preferred Savings account has a competitive rate of 1.50% APY for balances of at least $10,000. This is listed in the bank's savings account rates page as of 12/28/09. This could help ease the checking's $10,000 combined minimum balance requirement.
There's a toll-free number listed on the promo page. I haven't called this number to see if it's available nationwide. I would guess a branch visit is required. According to the bank's company profile page, the bank has 337 banking offices in California, Oregon, Washington and Texas. However, the vast majority of the branches are located in California.
Union Bank has been a FDIC member since 1979 (FDIC Certificate # 22826).
Thanks to the reader Marc who mentioned this promotion in the comments of the bank deals hub.
Update: A reader noted that there are also two $50 bonuses available for opening a free checking account. Both require either direct deposit or three online bill payments:
- $50 cash bonus, Expires 12/31/09
- $50 Nijiya Market Gift Certificate. Expires 2/28/10
Other Bank Bonuses
To find other bonus deals, please refer to my bank bonus page which has all of my recent bank bonus posts.
State Bank of India (California) is offering some competitive long-term CD rates. The most competitive one is a 3.00% APY 3-year CD. The other ones include a 2.30% APY 2-year CD and a 3.40% APY 5-year CD. Minimum deposit is $1,000. These rates are listed in the bank's rate sheet as of 12/23/09. Note, interest must be paid out at least annually so the interest rate is the same as the APY.
On the front page of the bank's website it states:
State Bank of India (California) is fully owned by State Bank of India, one of the strongest banks in the World, with controlling ownership by Government of India.
This is a sister bank of State Bank of India in New York which offers CDs and money market accounts by mail. However, it appears the California bank requires a branch visit to open accounts. If you have more info on this, please leave a comment. The California bank currently has higher rates on the long-term CDs.
State Bank of India (California) has branches in several cities of California including Los Angeles, Artesia, Canoga Park, San Jose, Fresno, San Diego and Bakerfield. It also has a branch in Washington, DC.
The bank's ratings for safety and soundness are above average: 4 stars (excellent) at BauerFinancial (based on 9/30/09 data) and 3 stars (performing) at Bankrate.com (based on 6/30/09 data). The bank has been a FDIC member since 1982 (FDIC Certificate # 23998).
Other Competitive Certificate of Deposit Rates
- CD rates at DepositAccounts.com
- My weekly list of hot nationwide and local CD deals
