Florida Banking Rates and News

As I described yesterday, I'm not a fan of short-term CDs. Most of the short-term CDs these days have rates lower than the best savings account rates. However, that is not the case at Miami Postal Service Credit Union which has a new 9-month CD with a 1.26% APY. They call it a "super jumbo", but it only requires a $25,000 minimum deposit. They used to only offer a regular jumbo with a $5,000 minimum deposit (the smallest jumbo CD that I've seen). This regular jumbo CD rate is only 1.00%. The credit union also offers a fairly...

Central Bank is offering four CD specials with competitive rates. These are a 2.10% APY 59-month CD, a 1.25% APY 25-month CD, a 1.00% APY 17-month CD and a 0.85% APY 11-month CD. Minimum deposit is $1,000, and the maximum is $100,000. These special rates are listed at the bottom of the bank's Minnesota rates page as of 1/24/2012. I was told these also apply to the bank's Florida branch.

A branch visit is required to open an account. Most of Central Bank branches are located in Minnesota and Wisconsin in the Minneapolis/St. Paul...

Central Bank is offering a new 18-month special CD rate. It has a 1.15% APY, and them minimum deposit is $2,500. There are also a special 2-year CD with a 1.25% APY and a special money market account with a top rate of 1.00% APY for a $100K minimum (0.80% for $25K and 0.90% for $50K). These rates are listed at the bank's rate table as of 1/6/2012.

My last report on this bank was last February when it was offering special 7-month CD. Its short-term CD rates are no longer competitive.

It appears...

Florida Credit Union is offering four special rates for its certificates and IRAs. The only one that is competitive is its 3-year special which has a 1.61% APY. The other three are a 1.07% APY 25-month CD, a 0.80% APY 19-month CD and a 0.65% APY 13-month CD. Minimum deposit of $10,000. These rates are listed in the credit union's rates page as of 12/28/2011.

Credit union membership is open to all residents of the following Florida counties: Alachua, Bradford, Citrus, Clay, Columbia, Gilchrist, Lake, Levy, Marion, Putnam, Sumter, Suwannee and Union. Please refer to...

Yesterday I reviewed the 7 reward checking accounts that remain in the 4% club. These are reward checking accounts with yields of at least 4.00% on balances of at least $25,000. Unfortunately, readers have reported that 2 of these 7 will be cutting rates or balance caps in January. So it's becoming increasingly difficult to find a 4% club member. You may have better luck finding ones in the 3% club. These are reward checking accounts with yields of at least 3.00% on balances of at least $25,000. We still list over a hundred reward checking accounts in the...

Floridian Community Bank continues to offer competitive long-term CD rates. These are the same as I reported in September: 2.27% APY 5-year CD, 1.76% APY 4-year CD and a 1.51% APY 3-year CD. Minimum deposit is $1,000. These rates are not listed at the bank's website. I called the bank this morning to confirm these are still valid. These rates are for 12/15/2011, and they could change anytime. The CSR didn't know the early withdrawal penalty details. However, when I contacted the bank last year, I was told the penalty is 10 months of interest on the 5-year CD...

Chartway Federal Credit Union is offering a 7-month CD promotion with very competitive rates. For deposits of $100K to $500K, the 7-month CD has a 1.25% APY. For deposits of $5K to under $100K, the CD has a 1.00% APY. This is a limited time promotion. These rates are listed at the bottom of Chartway's certificates rates sheet as of 12/13/2011. Thanks to the reader who emailed me news of this promotion.

Chartway used to offer a reward checking and savings account called eChecking and eSavings. Earlier this year, Chartway stopped accepting new applications for...

You might be familiar with Raymond James through its financial advisors which have offices throughout the U.S. You may not know that one of its subsidiaries is a bank, Raymond James Bank, and that bank is currently offering some competitive CD rates. The best ones include a 2.10% APY 5-year CD, 1.75% APY 4-year CD and a 1.55% APY 3-year CD. Minimum deposit is $1,000. These rates are listed in the bank's rates page as of 12/07/2011.

Raymond James Bank lists a few CD details in this CD page. At the bottom,...

Beal Bank has some good deals on short-term CDs. However, the best rates are only in a few cities where it has branches. You can check what rates are available in your area by entering your zip code in Beal Bank's CD page. I did this for zip codes of most of the cities where Beal Bank has branches. The city with the best 1-year CD rate is San Diego with a 1.15% APY. Three other cities have 1-year CD rates of 1.10% APY. These include Winter Park, Florida (Orlando metro), Frontenac, Missouri (St Louis metro)...

TotalBank continues to offer some good CD deals. Rates have fallen since my April review, but that's no different than any other bank. The best deals continue to be the long-term bump-up CDs and the short-term promotional CDs. The bump-up CD deals include a 2.00% APY 5-year CD and a 1.50% APY 35-month CD. The short-term promo rates include a 1.00% APY for 7 months and 1.10% APY for 11 months. These promo rates require new money. Minimum deposit is $1,000. These rates are listed in the bank's rates sheet as of 11/15/2011.

TotalBank used...

I have never been enthusiastic about 3-month CD specials. I've found that they're too short to be worthwhile. If you do prefer short-term CDs, at least make sure the yield is higher than the top savings account rates. That is the case with Homebanc in Florida. They're having a 3-month CD special with a very competitive 1.50% APY. Minimum deposit is $5,000, and the maximum deposit is $100,000. Only one CD offer is allowed per household, and Homebanc is only accepting Florida deposits. New money is required. This special rate is listed at the bank's rates...

If you're looking for a short-term CD, I'm afraid it's hard to find rates over one percent in today's awful interest rate environment. That's especially the case for some states like Florida. So when I found this CD special at a large Florida bank, I thought it was worth mentioning. It's at BankUnited which is offering a special 1-year CD with a 1.10% APY. Minimum deposit is $5,000. This special is listed at BankUnited's CD rates page as of 11/3/2011.

It appears a branch visit is required to open this CD special. BankUnited branches...