North Carolina Banking Rates and News

Many banks may have ended their free checking accounts, but at least a few are still offering new account bonuses. Customers will have to be more careful if they plan to take advantage of these promotions. That's the case with BB&T which is offering a $100 bonus for opening a checking account and performing some additional activities. Last year BB&T ended its free checking account, so those interested in this promotion will have to make sure they can avoid the fees.

To qualify for the $100 bonus, new customers must open a BB&T checking account and set-up direct deposit OR...

United Federal Credit Union is offering a few good CD and IRA CD deals. First, there's a share certificate special with a 43-month term. Rates are based on the deposit amount: 1.60% APY for $100K, 1.50% APY for $50K and 1.35% APY for $500. The credit union's long-term premier certificates are also good deals. The best one is a 2.00% APY 5-year CD with a $100K minimum deposit. The yield is 1.90% for a $50K minimum. The special CD rates are listed in the credit union's spring share certificate special page as of 4/17/2012. The other...

• 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...

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...

Most of the CD rates at INOVA Federal Credit Union are low, but there's one rate that's very competitive. It's the 6-year share certificate which has a 2.50% APY. Minimum deposit is $200. There's also a step-up option, but the rate is 0.10% lower. This allows the member to step-up the rate one time during the term. The IRA share certificates have rates 0.10% higher. These rates are listed in the CD rates page as of 1/11/2012.

According to the member service rep, the 6-year CD has an early withdrawal penalty of 180 days of...

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...

KeySource Commercial Bank continues to offer very competitive CD and savings account rates. The best CD deal is its 7-month CD special which has a 1.15% APY. Its regular 12-month CD rate is also competitive with a 1.20% APY. KeySource Commercial Bank also has a good deal on a savings account with a 1.15% APY. These rates are listed at the bank's rates page as of 12/27/2011.

The savings account is called the Blue Savings Account. Some important features of the account include:

• Minimum of $100 to open an account in person or...

Coastal Federal Credit Union has been offering its reward checking account, the Go Green Checking, for about four years. I first reviewed it in early 2008. Like all deposit accounts, rates have fallen, but there was an interesting rate hike in October as noted in the discussion forum. Coastal FCU increased the rate of its reward checking account from 2.00% to 2.51% APY, and it didn't decrease the balance cap. This 2.51% APY applies to balances up to $50,000. However, there was an unfortunate change. It increased the required number of monthly debit card purchases...

Piedmont Advantage Credit Union is offering some competitive long-term CD and IRA CD rates. The three best are a 2.50% APY 5-year CD, a 2.10% APY 4-year CD and a 1.75% APY 3-year CD. Minimum deposit is $500. These rates are listed at the credit union's rates and fees page as of 10/14/2011.

Membership is open to anyone to lives, works, worships, or attends school in any of the following North Carolina counties: Forsyth, Guilford, Rockingham, Iredell, Mecklenburg and Duplin. Please refer to the credit union's membership page for more details.

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 &...

Randolph Bank & Trust Company is offering a very competitive 3-year CD special. It's only available via an online application to residents of certain southeast states (see below). The 3-year CD has a 2.05% APY, and the minimum deposit is $5,000. This special is listed in the bank's CD page as of 8/31/2011. There's also a branch 3-year CD with a 1.85% APY with some special features and requirements. Thanks to the reader JasonLee who mentioned this deal in this forum thread.

In addition to this CD, Randolph also has good deals on its savings...

Premier Federal Credit Union has some very competitive short-term and mid-term CD rates. The best short-term CD rates are 1.25% APY for a 6-month term and 1.55% APY for a 1-year term. Minimum deposit is $500. For a $50K minimum, the 6-month CD has a 1.30% APY. The best mid-term CD rates are 2.00% APY for a 2-year term and 2.30% APY for a 3-year term. Minimum deposit is $500 ($1,000 for IRA CDs). These rates are listed in the credit union's savings rates page as of 6/9/2011.

Credit union membership is open to those...