Connecticut Banking Rates and News

Citizens Bank and Charter One regularly have checking account promotions with nice bonuses. Both are brand names of RBS Citizens, N.A. Citizens Bank branches are primarily located on the east coast and Charter One branches are located in the Midwestern states of Illinois, Michigan and Ohio. Charter One is currently listing a bonus of up to $175. I can’t find a similar one at Citizens Bank, but when I called Citizens Bank at 888-411-7442, the CSR told me that this same $175 bonus is available. (see update below) However, he said a new customer will need to visit a...

Mutual Bank in Massachusetts did something that is rare these days. It increased the rate of its reward checking account. Another nice change is that the bank is now allowing anyone from New England to apply online. The rate increase makes the reward checking competitive, but I wouldn’t call it a hot deal since it still has a small balance cap. There’s also a companion savings account called REALSaver which helps offset the checking's low cap. Below is a summary of the rates and features of these two accounts. These are based on the bank’s REWARDChecking...

Citizens Bank is offering a checking account bonus of up to $150. The bonus doesn't require too much work. One downside is that the checking accounts do have monthly service fees, but there are easy ways to avoid them. This promotion is scheduled to last until 2/28/2013. The details are listed at www.citizensbank.com/150. Here's summary of what's required to earn the full $150:

1. Open your first new personal checking account by 2/28/13
2. Get $50 when you setup direct deposit and have a single deposit of $500 or more clear your new checking account by 4/30/13
3. Get $50 when you...

In today's interest rate environment, the vast majority of short-term CDs have rates under 1.00%. I found one exception at Xceed Financial Credit Union which has a special 9-month share certificate with a 1.00% APY. Minimum deposit is $500. This special CD rate is listed on the credit union's rates page and in the credit union's news & events page as of 11/21/2012. The news & events page has instructions about how the CD can be opened online.

Xceed has a history of CD specials. I reviewed the last one in July.

The credit...

Citizens Bank is offering a promotion that includes a short-term CD special and a special credit card cash-back deal. It's called the "Get the Value of Five." The promotion is scheduled to end on 9/28/2012. Here's the link to the Citizens Bank promo page. Citizen's Bank branches which are branded as Charter One have this same promo. Here's the link to the Charter One promo page. Hat tip to DA reader Kaight who posted on this deal in this forum thread. More details about this promo is available in this

As we have seen over the last few years, the vast majority of changes on reward checking accounts have been rate and/or balance cap reductions. There have been rare occasions when a bank increases the rate. That recently occurred at Southbridge Savings Bank with its rewards checking account. Thanks to reader 51hh who mentioned this rate hike in the comments. I first reviewed Southbridge Savings and its reward checking account in 2007. Since that time, the reward checking account is now under the Kasasa brand and is called Kasasa Cash. There's also a linked savings account called Kasasa...

With so many banks cutting their CD rates, I was pleasantly surprised to see that EBSB Direct continues to offer a very competitive 3-year CD rate. As of the morning of 8/1/2012, the APY is still 1.80%. This yield has remained unchanged since August 2011. I last reviewed it in October. At that time the rate was competitive. As rates at other banks have fallen, this 1.80% APY has become much more competitive. Minimum deposit is $1,000. These rates are listed at EBSBdirect.com as of 8/1/2012.

I called the bank this morning to make sure that this 1.80% APY is...

Xceed Financial Credit Union has a special 19-month share certificate with a 1.25% APY. Minimum deposit is $500. An active checking account is required. This special CD rate is listed on the credit union's rates page and in the news & events page as of 7/5/2012.

The credit union used to offer a free checking account, but that appears to have ended last year. However, it's not hard to avoid monthly service charge. For the Basic Checking, the monthly service charge can be waived if the member maintains a minimum checking account balance of...

Update 12/14/2012: The checking promotion has been extended to December 31, 2012.

These Sovereign Bank promotions aren't anything to get excited about, but in today's environment, they may be something to consider if you're looking for a checking account bonus or a decent CD rate. With some of these accounts, you'll have to watch out for fees. Like at other banks, it has become harder to avoid some of the fees.

Checking Account Promotion

For the checking account promotion, Sovereign Bank is offering up to a $125 bonus for opening a checking and money market account. Here's the direct...

CorePlus Federal Credit Union is offering a very competitive rate on its 5-year share certificate. It has a 2.25% APY for a minimum deposit of $500. The early withdrawal penalty is 365 days of dividends. This rate is listed in the credit union's share certificate truth in savings with an effective date of June 1, 2012. This document also has the details of the early withdrawal penalty.

Credit union membership is open to those who live, work, worship, or attend school in New London County or Windham County, Connecticut. Please refer to the credit...

Citizens Bank has a new-account promotion in which you can earn up to $225. To get the full $225 requires opening a new personal checking account and a money market account or CD. It's important to note that both the checking and money market accounts have potential monthly fees. So keep that in mind when considering the bonus.

To qualify for the promotion, complete the form at this Citizens Bank promotions page to get a coupon that you can print and take to your local branch. Accounts must be opened by 6/2/2012 to qualify for the bonuses.

For...

In February Rockland Trust launched the internet division Rockland Direct with a competitive money market account. It has a yield of 1.00% APY for balances of $2,500 to $1 million as of 5/17/2012. A $2,500 minimum balance is required to earn interest and to avoid a $15 monthly fee. There's no guarantee about how long the rate will last, but I was told it's not an intro rate, and it will probably remain the same for some time to come.

Application Details

There's an online application via andera.com which allows funding via an ACH transfer from your existing checking account. The...