Mississippi Banking Rates and News

High-yield reward checking accounts are the only deposit account in today’s world with a rate over 3%. Not all have rates over 3%, but the best ones still do. You can’t even get 3% rates today with 7-year CDs. However, unlike CDs, the reward checking accounts require work, and there are limitations. The main limitation is the balance that qualifies for the high rate, the balance cap. A few years ago, a $25K balance cap was most common. The $10K balance cap is now more common, especially for reward checking accounts that have recently been launched. One example of this...

All reward checking accounts that have been around for at least five years have seen at least some rate cuts, and many have also had balance cap reductions. Several have been big disappointments with large cuts, but there are a few that have held up well. One of those is the Advantage Checking account at Central Sunbelt Federal Credit Union in Mississippi. I first reviewed this account in June 2008 when it had a 6% APY with a $25K balance cap. Below are the new rates and balance cap listed at the credit union’s rates page...

Regions Bank is again advertising a checking account promotion in which you can earn $125. This is another big bank that lacks free checking so you'll have to be careful to avoid monthly fees. The offer requires a new customer open a LifeGreen Checking Account online with the promo code 125, have at least $500 in total direct deposits and at least 10 Visa check card purchases in the first 60 days. Offer is scheduled to end on 4/7/2013. The offer is listed in this Region's promotion page.

There's no mention of this offer on Region's home...

First Financial Bank has started offering a reward checking account called Kasasa Cash. There's also a linked savings account called Kasasa Saver. Both offer very competitive interest rates, and the accounts can be opened online. Thanks to DA member 51hh who first posted on this in the forum. There is some worry that this deal may not last long, but as I show below, it's not really a hot deal compared to other reward checking accounts. So hopefully, it will last for some time.

First Financial Bank has the rates and details listed in its Kasasa...

As I was reviewing today's rate changes, I came across Keesler Federal Credit Union which had increased some of its CD rates. I was surprised I had not noticed this credit union before since it's the largest credit union in Mississippi. Its new CD rates got my attention since they're very competitive. Its Jumbo share certificates have the highest rates. These include a 2.00% APY for a 5-year term, a 1.65% APY for a 4-year term and a 1.40% APY for a 3-year term. Minimum deposit is $100,000. Rates are 10 basis points lower for a $1,000 minimum deposit....

BrandBank has started a checking account promotion which is guaranteeing a 1.07% APY through June 30, 2013. A minimum balance of $50,000 is required. The rates are much lower for smaller balances (0.25% for $10K to $50K and 0.10% for under $10K). There's also another requirement. One of the following criteria must be met within 60 days of account opening: 1) sign up for recurring Direct Deposit on this account; 2) enroll in Brand Bill Pay; or 3) open a CD with at least $25,000 in new money not currently on deposit with BrandBank. If this requirement isn't met,...

Update 9/28/2012: Readers have been told by the bank CSRs that the yield is scheduled to fall from 3.25% to 2.25% on October 15, 2012.

Community Trust Bank is offering a very competitive reward checking account that it calls Trust Plus Checking. Both the rate and the balance cap make this a good deal. The details are shown below. The rates and balance cap are based on what's listed at the bank's rates page as of 9/25/2012:

• 3.25% APY for balances up to $30,000
• 1.00% APY for portion of balance over $30,000
• 0.10% APY on all balance if requirements are...

Earlier this month I reported on BancVue's latest campaign in promoting Kasasa. In its free gas promotion, it highlighted several banks and credit unions offering Kasasa accounts. Some of these were banks that have just have recently launched Kasasa accounts. One of these is Sycamore Bank which has a Kasasa Cash account and a Kasasa Saver account. Like most new Kasasa accounts, the balance cap is a little disappointing. Nevertheless, the interest rate is high enough to make it noteworthy. Below are the rates, features and requirements of these accounts as of...

Regions Bank is advertising a checking account promotion in which you can earn $125. This is another big bank that lacks free checking so you'll have to be careful to avoid monthly fees. The offer requires a new customer open a LifeGreen Checking Account online with the promo code Online125Bonus, have at least $500 in total Direct Deposits and at least 10 Visa CheckCard transactions in the first 60 days. Offer is scheduled to end on 9/30/2012. The offer is listed in this Regions promotion page.

There's no mention of this offer on Region's home page. I...

Navigator Credit Union is offering very competitive CD and IRA CD rates. The highest rates are Jumbo IRA CD rates. The most competitive include a 2.35% APY for 5 years, 2.00% APY for 4 years and 1.40% APY for 2 years. These are IRA rates with a minimum $100K minimum deposit. The regular CDs with small balances have rates that are 15 basis points lower. These rates are listed in the credit union's rates page as of 6/28/2012. There's an old date at the top of this page, but I called the credit union yesterday and...

I first reported on the reward checking account at BankFirst Financial Services in 2009. As you might expect, rates have fallen. However, the rate remains competitive and the balance cap has remained the same. In addition to rate changes, the bank has moved the account into the Kasasa brand. The reward checking account is called Kasasa Cash, and they have added a linked savings account called Kasasa Saver. The website Kasasa.com is currently showing these accounts as nationally available which makes this a very good deal. The following rates and tiers are listed at the bank's

SunTrust Bank has a CD and IRA CD special with a competitive rate. It's a 6-year (72 month) CD with a 2.00% APY. Minimum deposit is $2,000, and the maximum opening deposit is $250,000 per CD. A new or existing checking account is required. This is a limited time special, and the rate may vary by location. This special rate and term are listed at the SunTrust CD rates page for several zip codes as of 2/28/2012.

I wasn't able to find an account disclosure online, so I used SunTrust's online chat service to find out about...