Louisiana Banking Rates and News

Crescent Bank & Trust is offering several very competitive mid-term and long-term CD rates. My last report of this bank was back in 2010. Its rates haven't changed much while rates of other banks have fallen. That has made its rates very competitive. The best one is a 2.50% APY 5-year CD. Minimum deposit is $1,000. There are also 3 very competitive CD specials with a $5,000 minimum deposit. These include a 2.25% APY 44-month CD, a 2.20% APY 37-month CD and a 2.15% APY 35-month CD. These rates are listed in the bank's rates page...

Northrop Grumman Federal Credit Union used to be a rate leader for many CD and IRA CD terms. That changed a couple of years ago. I just noticed that the credit union's CD rates are becoming more competitive. In addition, it has recently added a 7-year CD that also has competitive rates. The best one is a 2.42% APY for a $40K minimum deposit (2.26% APY for a $2.5K minimum). The 5-year CD rate is also fairly competitive with a 2.05% APY for a $40K minimum. These rates are listed in the credit union's...

Community Trust Bank is offering a 13-month CD special with some competitive rates. If you meet all the checking account requirements, you can get a very competitive rate of 1.65% APY. That requires opening a checking account with a debit card, online banking, e-statements and direct deposit. Without direct deposit, the rate falls to 1.40% APY. Without a checking account, the rate is still quite competitive with a 1.15% APY. Minimum deposit is $5,000, and new money is required. This special is listed at the bank's promotions page as of 2/3/2012.

It appears that a...

Air Force Federal Credit Union did something that's not common these days. It made some large rate increases on its share certificates. Its long-term CDs and IRA CDs are now competitive. The best ones include a 2.75% APY 7-year CD, 2.20% APY 5-year CD and a 1.60% APY 3-year CD. Minimum deposit is $100,000. For the 7-year and 5-year CDs, rates are 5 basis points lower for a $2,500 minimum deposit. These rates are listed in the credit union's rates page as of 1/19/2012.

The credit union's early withdrawal penalty is a little convoluted:

The early...

In today's awful interest rate environment, the only deposit account where you can find yields of 4.00% is the reward checking account. Even long-term CDs don't have yields this high. However, there are not many 4.00% reward checking accounts. Rates and balance caps have been falling. As I described in my reward checking overview, reward checking accounts only offer high yields for balances up to a certain cap. For those with large savings, this cap is as important as the rate. Many consider a balance cap of $25,000 to be the minimum cap that makes the reward checking account...

Louisiana is one of the states with top deposit rates, and some of the best CD rates are being offered by Jefferson Financial Credit Union. There are two rate tiers, and the top tier only requires a $10K minimum deposit. In this top tier, the most competitive CDs include a 3.00% APY 5-year CD, 2.25% APY 2-year CD and a 1.75% APY 1-year CD. Rates are 25 basis points lower for a $1K minimum. These rates are listed at the credit union's CD rate tables as of 7/19/2011.

Membership is open to all...

In the last couple of weeks I've noticed a few new reward checking accounts. This one at Hope Credit Union is one of those new ones. It's nice that institutions are still launching new reward checking accounts. However, there's one downside. Most of these new ones have balance caps of $10,000, and that includes Hope Credit Union. Nevertheless, it has some features that make it noteworthy. In addition to the checking account, there's also a companion savings account. These accounts are under the Kasasa brand name. The checking is called Kasasa Cash and the savings is called...

Update 1/4/2012: The balance cap has fallen to $20K

There used to be a few institutions in Louisiana with some very attractive reward checking accounts. However, the ones with the best rates have reduced the balance caps. The reader 51hh recently mentioned a new Louisiana reward checking at Home Federal Bank which has both a top rate and a respectable balance cap. The account is called Smart Rewards Checking and it has the following rates and features if certain monthly requirements are met (as of 1/4/2012):

• 4.00% APY on balances up to $20,000
• Foreign...

Several insurance companies like State Farm and MetLife have banks that offer deposit accounts. I just found another one that's under Shelter Insurance Companies. Its bank is called Shelter Financial Bank, and it's currently offering some very competitive long-term CD rates. The notable long-term CD rates include a 3.20% APY 7-year CD, a 2.95% APY 6-year CD, and a 2.55% APY 5-year CD. Minimum deposit is $1,000. Rates are 10 basis points higher for the Jumbo CDs with a $95K minimum deposit. These rates are listed in the bank's deposit rates page as of...

First National Bank is offering a reward checking and savings account under the Kasasa brand. The accounts have the following rates and features if certain monthly requirements are met (as of 3/3/2011):

Kasasa Cash

• 3.55% APY on balances up to $15,000
• 0.55% APY on portion of balances over $15,000
• 0.05% base rate if requirements are not met
• Nationwide ATM fee refunds (up to $25 per monthly cycle)

Kasasa Saver

• 1.55% APY on balances up to $15,000
• 0.55% APY on portion of balances over $15,000
• 0.05% base rate if requirements are not met

Monthly requirements for the Kasasa Cash account include:

• 12 debit...

Fidelity Homestead Savings Bank has a reward checking account with some above average rates. The following is a list of the rates and features if certain monthly requirements are met (as of 12/9/2010):

• 4.11% APY on balances up to $25,000
• 1.00% APY on portion of balance over $25,000
• 0.25% base rate if requirements are not met
• Nationwide ATM fee refunds of up to $4.95 per event with a cap of $25 per month

Monthly requirements include:

• 10 debit card purchases
• One ACH Credit or Debit
• Enroll and receive E-Statements

There are no monthly service fees and no minimum balance requirement.

Not only...