Massachusetts Banking Rates and News

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...

Service Credit Union is offering several promotions in celebration of it reaching $2 billion in asset size. The best offer is a $150 bonus for opening a checking account with direct deposit. There's also a 11-month CD with a 1.00% APY and a refer-a-friend bonus of a $100 gift card. These promotions don't appear to be listed at the credit union's website. They were advertised in Massachusetts newspapers on 5/17/2012. The ad is available online here. According to the small print, the offers are valid until May 31, 2012.

Here's the small print of...

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...

Webster Bank is offering four checking account bonuses with values that range from $50 to $100. The amount of the bonus depends on the checking account that is opened. As you might expect, the higher the bonus, the harder it is to avoid the monthly fees. Webster Bank used to have the Totally Free Checking account, but this changed to the Value Checking which has potential monthly fees.

Here's the checking promotion page. The offer is scheduled to end on 6/22/2012.

To qualify for the bonus, the customer must complete one of the following by 7/20/2012:

• 1 direct deposit,...

It has been a while since I reported on First Republic Bank. Its CD rates have finally changed for the better to make it noteworthy. The bank now has a few competitive CD rates. The two best ones are a 1.30% APY 2-year CD and a 1.20% APY 18-month CD. Minimum deposit is $5,000. Below is the list of all of the competitive CD rates as listed at the bank's rates page as of 5/2/2012:

• 1.75% APY 6-year CD
• 1.60% APY 5-year CD
• 1.50% APY 4-year CD
• 1.40% APY 3-year CD
• 1.30% APY 2-year CD
• 1.20% APY 18-month CD
• 1.00% APY 1-year CD

Rates...

Most reward checking accounts are free checking accounts. You don't have to worry about a monthly maintenance fee even if you don't meet the monthly debit card requirements. However, there are a few reward checking accounts that do have potential monthly fees, and that's the case with UniBank for Savings and its new reward checking account called eChecking. If you're careful, you can avoid the monthly fee and be rewarded with a reward checking rate that's quite competitive in today's environment.

The following eChecking rates and requirements are listed at UniBank's checking page as of 4/10/2012:

• 2.75% APY...

It doesn't look like it's easy to qualify for membership at Transportation Federal Credit Union. If you can find a way to qualify, you'll have access to some very competitive CD and IRA CD rates. The Jumbo IRA CDs have the best rates. These include a 2.62% APY for 5 years, a 2.01% APY for 3 years and a 1.26% APY for 1 year. The regular CD rates are close for the long-terms, but the shorter terms have much lower rates. The best non-IRA Jumbo CD rates include a 2.52% APY for 5 years and 2.01% APY for 4...

Athol Credit Union's internet division called Quabbin Online Credit Union continues to offer a very competitive 6-month CD special. It has a 2.25% APY with a maximum deposit of $100,000 per house hold. Minimum deposit is $1,000. New money is required. This rate is listed at the credit union's rates page as of 3/20/2012. Thanks to the reader who emailed me news of this CD.

Quabbin Online Credit Union also has competitive savings and money market rates. The savings account has a 1.10% APY for all balances, and the money market account has a 1.00% APY on...

Merrimack Valley Federal Credit Union has several competitive rates on its certificates. The best ones include a 2.50% APY for 5 years, 2.00% APY for 3 years and 1.50% APY for 2 years. Minimum deposit is $500. These rates are listed in the deposit rates page as of 2/28/2012.

Credit union membership is open to all persons who live, work, worship or attend school in the Merrimack Valley of Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Please refer to the credit union's Who Can Join page for more details and for a list of cities in the...

You often can get a higher CD rate by having a checking account. That's the case with Clinton Savings Bank which is offering an extra 25 basis points on its CDs and IRA CDs for customers who have a consumer checking account (excluding money market checking) with a recurring direct deposit. The most competitive rate is its 2-year CD which has a 1.45% APY. Other competitive rates include a 1.85% APY 3-year CD, a 2.05% APY 4-year CD and a 2.25% APY 5-year CD. All of these rates require the checking account with direct deposit. Minimum deposit is $500....

Update 4/27/2012: I was informed by the bank that the maximum deposit of the 5-year PlatinumBlue Rising Rate CD has been reduced from $100,000 to $25,000.

I'm afraid that 5-year CDs with a 3.00% yield are very rare these days. I found one being advertised by Belmont Savings Bank in Massachusetts. However, it's not a typical buy-and-forget CD. It's called PlatinumBlue Rising Rate CD. It has a blended APY of 3.00% for a 5-year term. This special is listed in the bank's promotion page as of 2/13/2012. The CD APY starts at 1.00% in year one, and...

If a 5-year term is too long for you, a 3-year CD may be a better maturity length. Unfortunately, most 3-year CD rates are under 2.00%. That's not the case with Leominster Credit Union which was one of the very few institutions to raise CD rates in February. Its 3-year CD and IRA CD have a 2.00% APY. Its 5-year CD and IRA CD rate remained the same in February, but they remain competitive with a 2.25% APY. Minimum deposit is $1,000. These rates are listed in the credit union's deposit rates page as of 2/2/2012.