Georgia Deposit Account Rates and Deals

Digital Credit Union is offering a free FICO credit score service to its members. Details are described in this credit union page. It states that "through DCU you can receive your Equifax FICO Credit Score via Message Center once a month FREE." Additional details are listed in the credit union's FAQ page.

Free credit scores from one of the major credit bureaus are not easy to find. Free trial periods are common, but these require you to sign up for a monthly subscription. You'll have to cancel before the trial period to avoid being charged the monthly fee. Other sites that offer free credit monitoring services may not be offering FICO scores.

You can get a free copy of your credit report once a year from each of the bureaus from AnnualCreditReport.com, the website setup by the government. However, this does not provide your credit score.

Another reason to join DCU is their CD specials. Every now and then DCU comes out with a nice CD special. The last one was in February when DCU was offering 2% for a 14-month term.

Anyone can join DCU via membership in an association. Refer to this credit union page for the list of associations. The least expensive membership is $10 for joining Reach Out for Schools. You can be immediately eligible to join DCU if you live, work, worship or attend school in parts of Georgia and Massachusetts. Refer to the Join DCU page for the full details.

In the instructions for joining DCU there are links to an online membership application and a PDF application. A reader who commented on his experience with the online application in my DCU post from 2008 provided the instructions he received from DCU after he applied:

In order to continue processing your application, please mail a $5 check or money order payable to DCU to fund your membership.

If you have joined through a sponsoring organization, then please make sure to also include funds to cover that organization's membership fee.

Also, please mail a copy of your driver's license or passport. If sending a passport, or if your license does not show your current address, please also send either a utility bill in your name (electric, gas, home telephone) or a copy of your apartment lease agreement. If you have listed a Joint Owner on your application, that person must also send the required ID and address proof.

Please note, we do not accept cell phone bills, bank statements, credit card statements or pay statements as address verification.

Make sure to check with the credit union for the latest instructions. One downside to joining is a potential hard credit inquiry (which can temporarily ding your credit score). Here's what a commenter mentioned in my August 2008 DCU post:

I also have been a five-year DCU member, holding several jumbo CDs with them. Yet, when I added checking to my account this past January, they ran a check on me through Equifax!

Branches are located throughout Massachusetts, in Hudson, Merrimack and Nashua in New Hampshire, in Colorado Springs, Colorado and in Alpharetta, Georgia.

DCU is federally insured by the NCUA (Charter # 23521). It's a large credit union with $4.2 billion in assets and 376,824 members.

Credit for this find goes to FW member jackcrawfish who mentioned it on this FW thread.

SunTrust Bank continues to offer a special CD package with a 3.00% APY. It's a bit unusual in that it requires that you open two CDs: one with a 26-month term and the other with a 49-month term. An equal amount must be deposited in each. Minimum deposit is $2,000 per CD. A checking account is required. I was told that the free checking qualifies. You can also open these special CDs in an IRA. This CD special is listed at the SunTrust CD page as of 3/12/2010.

I first reported on this CD special in February when it was only available in the Tampa metro area. I called SunTrust today (800.279.4824), and the CSR said it could be opened by phone from any state. The CSR said he could open it by phone and use ACH debits from your bank's checking or money market account to fund the CDs and checking account. Note, it would take 3 debits to fund the accounts which could cause you to go over your 6-per-month limit on savings and money market accounts. According to the CSR, the CD rate would lock on the day you apply by phone. The CD rate is subject to change on any day. The CSR didn't know how much longer it would last. I also asked the CSR about the early withdrawal penalty, but I didn't get a simple answer. It appears to be based on how close you are to maturity. If you have more details about this, please leave a comment.

$150 Checking Account Bonus

SunTrust's $150 checking account promotion is still available. I first mentioned this in my February bonus review. According to the CSR, one could open the checking account for this promotion and then open these CD specials at the same time by phone. Or if you don't want the CDs, you could just do this checking promotion. Make sure you register your SunTrust checking account in the promotion via suntrust.com/solid by April 30, 2010. Refer to my February bonus review for more promotion detailss.

No Hard Credit Pull

According to the CSR, there's no hard credit inquiry. It's only a soft pull. This is the same info that I received in 2008 and many have confirmed there's no hard pull in this FW thread. So you shouldn't have to worry about having this ding your credit score.

Bank Overview

SunTrust is a large regional bank with $125 billion in deposits. It has branches throughout the southeast in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and Washington DC.

Dow Jones reported on SunTrust's downgrading by Standard & Poor's Ratings Services on February 1st:

SunTrust, which serves areas of the southeast U.S. hit hard by the real estate crash, including Florida, has suffered from exposure to local construction and commercial real estate, as well as effects of high unemployment. The lender posted a string of losses last year.

As you may expect, SunTrust's ratings for safety and soundness are a little weak: 3 stars (adequate) at BauerFinancial (based on 12/31/09 data) and 1 star (lowest) at Bankrate.com (based on 9/30/09 data). SunTrust is a FDIC member (FDIC Certificate # 867).

American Pride Bank is offering a hot 6-month CD special with a 2.29% APY. Minimum deposit is $500. This is listed as the bank's featured product on the front page of the website as of 2/23/2010.

It appears that a branch visit is required to open an account. Branches are located in Macon and Warner Robins, Georgia.

With Georgia being the state with the most bank failures over the last couple of years, it's wise to be a little suspicious of Georgia banks offering high deposit rates. However, American Pride Bank appears to be in decent shape. Bankrate.com gives it a 3-star rating (performing) based on 9/30/09 financial data. BauerFinancial labels the bank as a start-up. The bank has been a FDIC member since 2007 (FDIC Certificate # 58584).

Yesterday afternoon readers reported receiving an email from Darby Direct informing them that they would no longer be able to make additional deposits to their 36-month Step Up CD after February 28, 2010. Here's an excerpt from the email:

As a valued customer, we would like to inform you about changes to your Darby Direct 36 Month Step Up CD. The last day to make additional deposits to your 36 Month Step Up CD is Sunday, February 28th. Following this date, no additional deposits can be made. For account disclosure information, please click here.

This brings up an important issue with CDs. Can a bank unilaterally change the account disclosure during the term of a CD? This appears to be what happened at Darby Direct. If you refer to the new account disclosure from the link above, it states the following:

[X] You may only make deposits into your account___until February 28, 2010

However, a reader made a copy of the original disclosure when he opened the CD in 2009, and this line was checked "You may only make unlimited deposits into your account" but the rest of the line was blank. There was no "until February 28, 2010". Also, there was an additional line that appeared as follows: "[X] You may make unlimited deposits into your account."

This is not only an important issue for those with this Darby Direct CD, it's also an important issue for anyone with a CD. There are many other important provisions in a CD account disclosure besides rates and maturity. Most CDs don't have add-on features, however, most allow early withdrawal with a penalty. Can a bank refuse to allow an early withdrawal even if there's no mention of that refusal right in the account disclosure? Can a bank increase the early withdrawal penalty? With the risk of interest rates shooting up in the next few years, this is a major concern for all those considering long-term CDs.

I do not know the laws for these issues and what the legal recourse might be. I found some relevant but general information from the OCC site helpwithmybank.gov. One of the Q&As of the site mentioned CD account disclosures:

Interest rates have gone up, but the bank refuses to raise the rate on my time certificate of deposit (CD). Why?

When you buy a CD, you enter into a contract involving a fixed amount of money (principal) for a predetermined period of time (the term) and an agreed-upon interest rate and yield. The bank is simply honoring the terms of the contract; it is not obligated to change those terms when interest rates change.

Please refer to the Account Agreement you received when you bought the CD for the terms and conditions of the account.

It appears the OCC is implying that the CD account disclosure is a contract which must be honored by both the bank and the account holder. It's important to note that the OCC is not the primary regulator for Darby Bank. According to the FDIC, Darby's primary federal regulator is the FDIC.

Another issue with Darby Bank is that it's not in the best financial health. It has been operating under this FDIC Consent Order (pdf) since December 18, 2009. In the order there are restrictions to brokered deposits and deposit yields. The order also has names of Georgia and FDIC regulators who may be another point of contact if Darby refuses to honor the original account disclosure.

There have been past cases in which banks and credit unions have changed their additional-deposit policies during a term of a CD. I don't know if the CD holders had any success in forcing the institutions to honor the original account disclosures. Last year a commenter mentioned that Vineyard Bank reneged on the add-on provisions of certain of its CDs. The bank was in bad financial shape, and it was seized by regulators. Another example was at United Services Credit Union in 2006. Readers reported that the credit union reneged on the terms of its flex CD.

Update 2/25/10: The reader BestCashCow reported the following in the Open Discussions Thread:

Regarding Darby - I have spoken to the FDIC about this type of issue. According to the FDIC, Darby can't change the terms of the initial disclosure unless they specify in the disclosure that it is subject to change. They also need to state that near the term they plan to change. So, they can't say the CD allows unlimited deposits on page 2 and then say this is subject to change on page 5. I don't see that anywhere in the amended agreement. I don't have the initial PDF but if there is no "subject to change" language then Darby shouldn't have altered the agreement. I'd contact the FDIC. the Fed or your local banking commission.

Workmen's Circle Credit Union is offering some very competitive short- and mid-term CD rates. The rates listed in the credit union's CD rate table as of 2/13/2010 include:

• 2.01% APY 6 month CD
• 2.50% APY 12, 15 and 24 month CD

Minimum initial deposit is $5,000. There is a 30 day interest penalty for early withdrawal. CDs are available for business, personal and IRA accounts.

The credit union also has a very competitive money market account. It's a tiered-rate account with top rates for balances over $20K. The rates listed in the credit union's savings and MMA table as of 2/13/2010 include:

• 2.25% APY $20K-$50K
• 2.50% APY $50K-$100K
• 2.60% APY $100K-$500K

Membership is open to those who live or work in Chatham County, Georgia with one exception. You may not qualify if you are eligible for membership at another occupational credit union within Chatham County. I'm not sure exactly what is meant by this. Refer to the credit union's membership page for the full details.

It's a small credit union with one office located in Savannah, Georgia.

The credit union's ratings for safety and soundness are strong: 5 stars (superior) at BauerFinancial and 4 stars (sound) at Bankrate.com. Both ratings are based on 9/30/09 financial data. The credit union is federally insured by the NCUA (Charter # 67892).

Digital Credit Union is offering a special 14-month certificate with a 2.00% APY. Minimum deposit is $500. It's also available in an IRA. The CD is listed in the DCU's special offers page as of 2/10/2010.

Every now and then DCU comes out with a nice CD special. The last one was in October when DCU was offering 2% for a 9-month term. You can see the interest rate environment has continued to worsen since October.

Anyone can join DCU via membership in an association. Refer to this credit union page for the list of associations. The least expensive membership is $10 for joining Reach Out for Schools. You can be immediately eligible to join DCU if you live, work, worship or attend school in parts of Georgia and Massachusetts. Refer to the Join DCU page for the full details.

In the instructions for joining DCU there are links to an online membership application and a PDF application. A reader who commented on his experience with the online application in my DCU post from 2008 provided the instructions he received from DCU after he applied:

In order to continue processing your application, please mail a $5 check or money order payable to DCU to fund your membership.

If you have joined through a sponsoring organization, then please make sure to also include funds to cover that organization's membership fee.

Also, please mail a copy of your driver's license or passport. If sending a passport, or if your license does not show your current address, please also send either a utility bill in your name (electric, gas, home telephone) or a copy of your apartment lease agreement. If you have listed a Joint Owner on your application, that person must also send the required ID and address proof.

Please note, we do not accept cell phone bills, bank statements, credit card statements or pay statements as address verification.

Make sure to check with the credit union for the latest instructions. One downside to joining is a potential hard credit inquiry (which can temporarily ding your credit score). Here's what a commenter mentioned in my August 2008 DCU post:

I also have been a five-year DCU member, holding several jumbo CDs with them. Yet, when I added checking to my account this past January, they ran a check on me through Equifax!

Branches are located throughout Massachusetts, in Hudson, Merrimack and Nashua in New Hampshire, in Colorado Springs, Colorado and in Alpharetta, Georgia.

DCU's rating for safety and soundness has gone down from 3 stars to 2 stars (below peer group) at Bankrate.com since my October post. DCU continues to be rated as 3 stars (adequate) at BauerFinancial. Both ratings are based on 9/30/09 financial data. DCU is federally insured by the NCUA (Charter # 23521). It's a large credit union with $4.2 billion in assets and 376,824 members.

Other Competitive Certificate of Deposit Rates

• CD rates at DepositAccounts.com
• My weekly list of hot nationwide and local CD deals

• 2.00% APY 91-day
• 2.10% APY 6-month
• 2.25% APY 12-month
• 2.50% APY 24-month
• 2.50% APY 30-month
• 2.75% APY 36-month
• 3.00% APY 48-month
• 3.25% APY 60-month

• CD rates at DepositAccounts.com
• My weekly list of hot nationwide and local CD deals

• CD rates at DepositAccounts.com
• Money Market rates at DepositAccounts.com
• Checking Account rates at DepositAccounts.com
• My weekly list of hot nationwide and local CD deals

• CD rates at DepositAccounts.com
• My weekly list of hot nationwide and local CD deals

• CD rates at DepositAccounts.com (overview of DepositAccounts.com)
• My weekly list of hot nationwide and local CD deals