S-Bank is having a grand opening 9-month CD special with a very competitive rate of 2.33% APY. Minimum deposit is $1,000, and the maximum is $250,000. It's only available on February 12 and 13, 2010. This special doesn't appear to be listed at the bank's website. It was recently advertised in a Boston newspaper. The ad is available online here.
Even though it's a grand opening special, the special CD is available at all three of the bank's branches which are located in Weymouth, Quincy and East Bridgewater.
The bank also has a competitive yield on the top tier of its money market account: 2.00% APY on balances from $75K to $2M as of 2/07/2010.
S-Bank's ratings for safety and soundness are above average: 4 stars (excellent) at BauerFinancial and 3 stars (performing) at Bankrate.com. Both ratings are based on 9/30/09 financial data. The bank has been a FDIC member since 1986 (FDIC Certificate # 26575).
Massachusetts Deposit Account Rates and Deals
Browse through the stories below to view current deals for Massachusetts banks or select an item from the menu bar above to view current rates in Massachusetts.
Sovereign Bank is offering a checking and money market promotion in which you can earn a bonus of $150 and receive a 1.50% APY guarantee for 3 months in the money market account. The promo is scheduled to expire 3/13/2010. Here's the promo page link.
First, here are the requirements for the $150 checking account bonus:
- Open a new Sovereign Premier Checking, Business Owner Premier Checking, Interest Checking, or Partnership Checking account by March 13, 2010, with a minimum opening deposit of $100
- Open any Sovereign savings or money market savings account with a minimum opening deposit of $100 or already have a savings or money market savings account
- Enroll in Online Banking at account opening
- Set up and receive one direct deposit within 60 days of opening your account
- Request a Sovereign Debit Card and make 5 Debit Card purchases within 60 days after you open your account
When you qualify, you will receive a credit of $150 to your new checking account within 75 days after you open your checking account.
Some important small print:
- Offer available only to residents in the following states: ME, VT, NH, CT, RI, MA, NY, NJ, PA, MV, MD, DE, and District of Columbia.
- Direct deposits you initiate from an account at another bank do not qualify
- The amount of the bonus credited to your account will be reported to the IRS as interest
- Current personal checking customers or anyone who has had a personal checking account with Sovereign Bank in the last 6 months are not eligible for this offer.
- Current savings customers are eligible
An important note regarding the Interest Checking is that direct deposit is required to avoid a $10 monthly fee. On the plus side is that they provide free checks. The Premier Checking is even worse in terms of potential fees. A $15,000 combined balance is required to avoid a $30/month fee. For the savings accounts, the Money Market Savings appears to be a good choice since it has no monthly maintenance fee and no minimum balance requirement. Note, the monthly fees and minimum balance vary considerably based on your state.
Here are the requirements to qualify for 1.50% APY for 3 months:
- Open a new Premier Checking account and open a new Premier Money Market Savings account by March 13, 2010
- Bonus rate will apply for each day your balance is $10,000 to $499,999 and is guaranteed for 3 months from the date you open your account
Some important small print:
- Same geographic restriction as mentioned above
- Anyone who has had a Sovereign savings, money market savings, or personal checking account with Sovereign in the last 6 months are not eligible for the bonus rate
Unlike the checking account promotion, this requires a Premier Money Market Savings account. Details of this account are in the promo page (click more for this account in the promo page). The Premier Money Savings is free of minimum balance requirements and has no monthly fees as long as you have a Premier Checking account (which, as I mentioned, has its own fees)
When I called Sovereign Bank in April 2008 regarding a similar promotion, I was told that there's no account closure fee if an account is closed after 90 days. Otherwise, it's $25. The CSR also said they don't perform a hard credit inquiry. They just use ChexSystem in the application.
There's an online application link in the promo page. However, the small print states that residential addresses must be located in the northeast states (see above).
Branches are located in the Northeast in the states of Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island. The bank is a FDIC member (FDIC Certificate # 29950).
Other Bank Bonuses
Refer to the Bank Bonus page for the other bonuses at banks and credit unions around the nation.
Danversbank is offering a hot CD special at one of its new branches at 485 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA. It's a 2.50% 12-month CD. Minimum deposit is $500, and the maximum is $500,000. New money is required. The special isn't listed at the bank's website. It was advertised last Friday (1/29/2010) in a Boston newspaper. The ad is available online here. I called this morning and confirmed that it's still available as of today (2/1/2010). According to the CSR, it could end on any day.
The special can only be opened at this new branch (485 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge), and a branch visit is required.
Danversbank has other deals that are available nationwide. These include:
- 1.75% APY 4-month online CD
- 1.50% APY online savings account
- 4.01% reward checking account
The above rates are as of 2/1/2010. All of the above accounts can be opened online using the online application link located at the bank's reward checking page. I have more details about these accounts in my Danversbank review from last year.
Branches are located in several Massachusetts cities including Boston, Danvers, Salem and Wilmington.
When a bank is offering very high rates, it sometimes raises red flags. Weak banks are often the ones offering the highest rates. That does not seem to be the case with Danversbank. Its 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 bank has been around since 1850 and has been FDIC insured since 1985 (FDIC Certificate # 90185).
BankGloucester is offering two competitive CD rates. The most competitive is the 18-month CD which has a 2.30% APY. Minimum deposit is $500. The 5-year CD is also not bad with a 3.34% APY. However, this requires a $50K minimum (3.08% APY for a $500 minimum). These rates are listed at the bank's rates page as of 1/27/2010.
The bank also continues to have a reward checking account that currently pays 4.01% APY on balances up to $25K (see my review).
A branch visit is required to open an account. According to the CSR, they accept out of state deposits as long as the customer visits a branch in person to open the account.
The bank has one office located in Gloucester, Massachusetts.
The bank's ratings for safety and soundness are a little mixed: 4 stars (excellent) at BauerFinancial and 2 stars (below peer group) at Bankrate.com. Both ratings are based on 9/30/09 financial data. The bank has been a FDIC member since 1986 (FDIC Certificate # 26536).
Northern Bank & Trust Company is advertising a 2.00% APY 18-month CD special. Minimum deposit is $500. This special doesn't seem to be listed at the bank's website. It was advertised in the 1/21/10 edition of the Wicked Local News. The ad is available online here.
It appears a branch visit is required to open an account. Branches are located in the Boston suburbs of Acton, Billerica, Burlington, Chelmsford, Littleton, Melrose, Woburn and Westford.
The bank's ratings for safety and soundness are above average: 4 stars (excellent) at BauerFinancial and 3 stars (performing) at Bankrate.com. Both ratings are based on 9/30/09 financial data. The bank has been a FDIC member since 1960 (FDIC Certificate # 18266).
With Massachusetts being in the news today due to the Senate election, I thought this would be a timely post. The Massachusetts bank, Country Bank for Savings has a few competitive CD rates which are available to those outside of the state. These include:
- 1.60% APY 6 months
- 2.00% APY 15 months
- 2.25% APY 24 months
These rates are listed in the bank's rates page as of the morning of 1/19/2010. Minimum deposit is $500, and these are available in an IRA. They'll bump the rates 25 basis points if you maintain $1,000 monthly balance in a checking account with monthly Direct Deposit.
According to the bank's FAQ:
We only accept funds to open Certificates of Deposit accounts from individuals living outside Massachusetts. We require a copy of your driver’s license and social security card. For additional information on opening an account, contact us at (800)322-8233
Since they don't offer checking accounts to those outside of MA, those relationship CD rates would only be applicable for MA residents.
Branches located in several cities between Springfield and Worcester.
The bank's ratings for safety and soundness are strong: 5 stars (superior) at BauerFinancial (based on 9/30/09 data) and 4 stars (sound) at Bankrate.com (based on 6/30/09 data). The bank was established in 1850, and it has been a FDIC member since 1982 (FDIC Certificate # 23992). Deposits over the FDIC limit are privately insured by DIF.
In addition to select employee groups, you can also qualify for membership in this credit union if you belong to certain organization groups. Refer to the credit union membership page for more details. The sponsors group list has all the eligible employers and organizations. Two organizations which appear open to all are the Gore Place Society or the Waltham Historical Society. Individual membership for the Gore Place Society is $30. Note, it's always best to check with the credit union about an organization to ensure membership will make you eligible to join the credit union. There have been cases at other credit unions in which they changed the listed requirement from membership of an organization to an employee of that organization.
You can tell this credit union was originally set up to serve Raytheon employees. Many of the branches are located in Raytheon facilities. Branches that are publicly available are located in the Massachusetts cities of Amesbury, Danvers, Marlborough, Tekksbury and Waltham.
The credit union's ratings for safety and soundness are strong: 5 stars (superior) at BauerFinancial (based on 9/30/09 data) and 4 stars (sound) at Bankrate.com (based on 6/30/09 data). The credit union is federally insured by the NCUA (Charter # 24311).
Other Competitive Certificate of Deposit Rates
- CD rates at DepositAccounts.com
- My weekly list of hot nationwide and local CD deals
The bank provides an online application that allows electronic funding via ACH, but the application specifically restricts accounts to Massachusetts residents. In this previous post a reader commented that the CD rate locks as soon as you submit the online application and fund it by ACH. CDs were opened one day after the funds were pulled form the external account, so only one day of interest was lost. Also, he mentioned that there's no hard credit pull for opening accounts.
Some readers have reported problems closing the internet CDs. Another reader mentioned that he didn't have any problems closing his two internet CDs last year. Here is what he said:
I did two of their internet CDs last year and never once visited a branch. You can just open the checking or a $10 min savings account. Then just before maturity you mail the certificate into them with instructions to close at maturity and put funds into liquid account. I had a savings so pulled it out from a linked account. Better to have the checking then can just write out a check and no lost interest.
The bank does have a free checking account and a free savings account.
Branches are located in the Massachusetts cities of Brookline, Dedham, Hyde Park, Norwood and West Roxbury.
Hyde Park Savings Bank continues to have solid ratings for safety and soundness: 5 stars (superior) at BauerFinancial (based on 9/30/09 data) and 4 stars (sound) at Bankrate.com (based on 6/30/09 data).
The bank has been a FDIC member since 1985 (FDIC certificate # 90160). It also has private DIF insurance to provide protection for deposits over the FDIC limits.
Other Competitive Certificate of Deposit Rates
- CD rates at DepositAccounts.com
- My weekly list of hot nationwide and local CD deals
Membership is open to those who live or work in the State of New Hampshire, with the exception of Coos County, and in the following Massachusetts towns: Falmouth, Mashpee, Bourne and Sandwich. Membership is also open to all military and civilian employees of the Department of Defense. Please refer to the credit union membership eligibility page for the full details. Membership requires a $5 minimum balance in the share savings account.
The credit union allows you to join and open accounts online via the Andera service.
Branches are located in the New Hampshire cities of Bedford, Lebanon, Epping, Keene, Manchester, Newington, Portsmouth, Rochester, Salem and Somersworth and in Falmouth, Massachusetts. There are also branches in Germany to service military members.
The credit union's ratings for safety and soundness are strong: 5 stars (superior) at BauerFinancial (based on 9/30/09 data) and 4 stars (sound) at Bankrate.com (based on 6/30/09 data). The credit union is federally insured by the NCUA (Charter # 68375). It's a large credit union with $1.4 billion in assets and 124,270 members.
Other Competitive Certificate of Deposit Rates
- CD rates at DepositAccounts.com
- My weekly list of hot nationwide and local CD deals
Rollstone Bank & Trust is offering two CD specials. The most competitive is the 48-month CD special which has a 3.50% APY. The short-term special has a 1.50% APY for a 9-month term. Minimum deposit is $1,000 for the 48-month CD and $100 for the 9-month CD. Both specials are also available in an IRA. These rates are listed at the bank's deposit rates page as of 12/20/09.
Update 12/22/09: The bank just increased the yield on the 7-month CD special from 1.50% to 1.92% APY. That makes the 7-month special much more competitive.
The bank has long offered a reward checking account. In 2007 it started out with a 6.01% APY for balances up to $100K. The rate has fallen considerably, and it's now 2.75% APY for balances up to $50K (see post).
Readers have reported being told by the bank that you must live within 50 miles of a branch, and the accounts must be opened in the branch. This might be a challenge for the next few days after this weekend's winter storm. Branches are located in Fitchburg, Leominster, Harvard and Townsend, Massachusetts.
The bank's ratings for safety and soundness are strong: 5 stars (superior) at BauerFinancial (based on 9/30/09 data) and 4 stars (sound) at Bankrate.com (based on 6/30/09 data). The bank was established in 1846 and has been a FDIC member since 1957 (Certificate # 17797).
Other Competitive Certificate of Deposit Rates
Not many banks or credit unions are offering rates above 3% for 4-year terms. The highest yield on my nationwide list is 3.15% APY at Hudson City Savings Bank. For other CD rates please refer to the following:
- CD rates at DepositAccounts.com (overview of DepositAccounts.com)
- My weekly list of hot nationwide and local CD deals
Immediate Access Accounts
Certificates of Deposit
Compare Rates:
- ETrade Super Bowl Commercials - What Happened to ETrade Bank?
- Competitive 21-Month CD at Stonebridge Bank in PA - Available Nationwide
- 2.33% 9-Month CD at S-Bank in MA on Feb 12-13, 2010 - Local Only
- $150 Checking Bonus and 1.50% 3-Mo Money Market Guarantee at Sovereign Bank in the Northeast
- Competitive 15-Month CD Special at Stillwater National Bank in OK - Local Only
Average Business Savings Rate Trend
