Hawaii Banking Rates and News

If you had been planning to open a PenFed CD, you need to hurry before March. PenFed CD rates appear to be falling quite a bit for March. Thanks to the reader who forwarded me the new rates he received from his correspondence with PenFed. Below are the new rates that the reader received by email. I also included the current rates. All of the new rates are 25 bps lower.

• 1.75% APY 7-year CD (was 2.00% APY)
• 1.65% APY 5-year CD (was 1.90% APY)
• 1.60% APY 4-year CD (was 1.85% APY)
• 1.60% APY 3-year CD (was 1.85% APY)
• 1.35% APY 2-year CD (was...

As I was reviewing old promotions looking for those that may still be available, I came across HomeStreet Bank which is still offering a checking account bonus of up to $300. It's also still offering a $50 refer-a-friend bonus. I last reviewed this promotion two years ago. The promotion details continue to be the same, and the bank still has a free checking account that qualifies for the promotion.

One thing that has changed in the last two years is the financial health of the bank. Two years ago it had a 2-star rating (out of 5) at DepositAccounts.com...

After two months of special CD rates, I was worried Pentagon Federal Credit Union (PenFed) would not extend the specials into January. So I was pleasantly surprised to see the new January CD rates at PenFed this morning. The 1-year CD rate had the biggest increase. It went up from 1.00% to 1.25% APY. The CD rates from terms of 2 to 5 years went up 10 basis points. The 7-year CD rate remains the same. This now makes PenFed's 1-, 2- and 3-year CD rates the clear nationwide leaders. It's interesting to see PenFed putting more emphasis on...

Pentagon Federal Credit Union (PenFed) changed its certificate rates for December. PenFed had been offering a very competitive 1-year CD rate in November. Unfortunately, that has ended. However, its 2-year and 3-year certificate rates went up and have become even more competitive. Below is the list of the new PenFed CD rates for terms of 1 to 7 years with the noteworthy rates highlighted. I've also listed the old rates in parentheses. These new rates are listed in PenFed's Money Market Certificates page as of 12/3/2012.

• 2.00% APY 7-year (was 2.02%)
• 1.80% APY 5-year (was 1.71%)
• 1.75% APY 4-year...

I was pleasantly surprised to see the new certificate rates at Pentagon Federal Credit Union (PenFed) for November. Rates went up for terms of 1 to 4 years. In fact, the new 1-, 2- and 3-year CD rates are very competitive. This is different than past PenFed CD promotions in which the best deals have been for the longer terms. Below is the list of the new PenFed CD rates for terms of 1 to 7 years with the noteworthy rates highlighted. I've also listed the old rates in parentheses. These new rates are listed in

With 10-year Treasury yields reaching record lows in July, I guess it should have been expected that we would see some big CD rate cuts in August. That was the case at Pentagon Federal Credit Union (PenFed) which typically makes rate changes on its CDs at the start of each month. Only its long-term CD rates were cut, and the longest terms had the biggest cuts. Its 7-year CD yield had the largest cut falling from 2.40% to 2.02%. Below is the list the new PenFed CD rates for terms of 1 to 7 years. I've also listed the...

• 2.50% APY 7-year CD (was 2.76%)
• 2.00% APY 5-year CD (was 2.25%)
• 1.74% APY 4-year CD (was 2.00%)
• 1.25% APY 3-year CD (was 1.50%)
• 0.99% APY 2-year CD (was 1.25%)
• 0.90% APY 1-year CD (was 1.16%)

PenFed calls their CDs...

There had been rumors that Pentagon Federal Credit Union (PenFed) was going to finally start offering 10-year certificates to all members in January. A reader reported that he was told by a CSR the yield would be 3.00%. I wasn't able to confirm this 10-year CD last week, and there isn't any mention of this new CD at PenFed's website. New January rates are posted with no mention of a 10-year CD or IRA CD.

There is some good news with PenFed's January rates. First, the 1-year CD yield has increased from 0.99% to 1.16% APY. This is the first...

With all the CD rate cuts over the last couple of months, I was happy to see that Pentagon Federal Credit Union kept its CD rates the same in October. These rates have held up since March 2011. At that time, these rates were not that competitive, but now PenFed's long-term CD rates are back near the top for nationally available CDs.

Below are PenFed's long-term CD yields as listed in PenFed's Money Market Certificates page as of 10/05/2011.

• 2.75% APY 7-year CD & IRA CD
• 2.25% APY 5-year CD & IRA CD
• 2.00% APY 4-year CD & IRA CD

Minimum...

Every now and then Doral Bank Direct offers competitive CD rates. Its latest deal is a 1-year CD with a 1.40% APY. Minimum deposit is $1,000. This is the only rate that's competitive. All the other CD rates are low. These rates are listed in the bank's CD page as of 3/29/2011.

My last report on this bank was about a year ago when they were offering a 1-year CD special. One odd thing is their requirement to close out a CD. You have to send them the original Certificate that was sent to you...

HomeStreet Bank is again offering a checking account promotion and it has gotten better since I reviewed it last year. The bonus amounts have gone up. Details are listed in the bank's promotion page as of 1/13/2011. I don't see any expiration date, but based on its history, the promo comes and goes. The following activities are required to receive the full $300:

• $100 for direct deposits of payroll, pension, social security or other income to your account
• $80 for using your new Visa Check card ($2 per purchase up to $80)
• $75 for using free Online...

Update: Only those who reserved CDs in September were able to qualify for these 10-year certificates. PenFed is not currently offering a promotion on new money 10-year certificates to any member.

Those who reserved CDs at PenFed in their Watch it Grow promotion should be seeing their CDs take effect (based on when they specified the start date). A reader had reported being told that those who did not qualify for these CDs may not have their CDs funded. This does not appear to be correct. Here's a comment from one reader who has verified that all CDs...