Nebraska Banking Rates and News

Update 5/25/2012: The 5-year Premium Money Market CD rate has fallen. According to the CSR, it's now 1.65% APY (down from 1.80% APY on 5/11). This is for California. Rates may vary for other states.

It's not common to find competitive CD rates at large brick-and-mortar banks, but I found one at Bank of the West. It's offering a 2.00% APY 5-year CD. This is the bank's Premium Money Market CD which requires a $2,500 minimum deposit. The rate isn't listed online, and it may vary by state. I called the bank yesterday (3/27/2012) and verified it for the bank's...

Bank of the West has just started a new checking account promotion with a bonus of up to $100. In addition, the bank will donate $25 to local schools. You can also earn another $25 by opening a credit card with the checking account. I didn't include this in the total bonus since there are many credit card bonuses that are over $25.

Bonus Details are listed in this Bank of the West promotions page. The checking account must be opened by 4/27/2012.

If you decide to give this promotion a try, don't forget Bank of the West...

Tecumseh Federal Bank has a very competitive rate for its two long-term CDs. Its 6-year and 8-year CDs have a 3.03% APY. It's one of the few banks that lists a 6-year CD but no 5-year CD. The shorter terms are not quite as competitive. The 4-year CD has a 1.76% APY and the 30-month CD has a 1.26% APY. Minimum deposit is $500. These rates are listed at the bank's rates sheet as of 1/16/2012. There's an October date at the top of the sheet, so I emailed the bank last week. According to the...

Bank of the West has just started a new checking account promotion with a $100 bonus that's scheduled to last until 9/16/2011. Here's the link to the offer. Unlike previous Bank of the West promotions, this one requires direct deposit. There doesn't seem to be online bill pay option. Like previous promotions, only those who reside in their market area are eligible (see below for the eligible states). The bank is still advertising a free checking account with no monthly service charges or monthly fees. This is becoming rare for large banks.

Below is the...

United Republic Bank is offering two attractive CD specials. The most competitive of the two CDs is the 1.65% APY 21-month CD. The other one is a 1.30% APY 14-month CD. Minimum deposit is $1,000. These rates are listed at the bank's rates page as of 7/7/2011.

It appears a branch visit is required to open an account. United Republic Bank is a small one-office bank located in Omaha, Nebraska.

The bank has an overall health score at DepositAccounts.com of 4 stars (out of 5) with a Texas Ratio of 26.10% (average) based...

BankOn is one of the rare internet banks that's limited to only certain states. My first review of BankOn was in October 2009 when the savings account was paying 2.05%. The yield held up well until last September when it fell to 1.15% APY where it remains as of 2/25/2011. This yield still is disappointing, but it's getting more competitive as others cut rates.

One nice small perk with BankOn that's still around is a sign-up bonus of $25 when you open the savings account. There doesn't seem to be any additional requirements to...

Update 6/15/2011: The rate tier has fallen from $25K to $15K

It's rare for me these days to find a new bank that's offering a top rate on a reward checking account. I just came across one that's based in Nebraska. It's American National Bank, and it's offering a reward checking account called Smart Checking. It has the following rates and features if certain monthly requirements are met (as of 2/18/2011):

• 4.05% APY on balances up to $15,000
• 0.50% APY on portion of balances over $15,000
• 0.10% base rate if requirements are not met
• ATM fee refunds up to $5 per transaction (includes the...

Update 4/3/2011: The bonus has been extended to 4/22/2011.

Bank of the West has another $100 checking account bonus. This new bonus is scheduled to last until 3/25/2011, and like the promotion from last July it allows either direct deposit of at least $250 or 10 online bill payments. One difference is that this new one requires that each bill payment be at least $25. The direct deposit or bill payment most be completed within 60 days of account opening.

Update 2/14/11: The promotion is now listed on Bank of the West's website. Here's the promotion link.

As...

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 12/28/2010.

Update 2/24/11: The top rate has fallen to 3.04% APY.

Bank of Nebraska is offering a high-yield reward checking account called Investment Checking. It has the following rates and features if certain monthly requirements are met (as of 11/03/2010):

• 3.04% APY on balances up to $25,000
• 0.10% APY on portion of balance over $25,000
• 0.10% base rate if requirements are not met

Monthly requirements include:

• 12 debit card purchases
• One direct deposit
• Internet banking with e-statements

Minimum opening deposit is $100. There isn't much additional info on the bank's website. It appears to be free of monthly service charges.

A branch visit appears to be required to...

I reported on Mutual 1st Federal Credit Union last year when it was offering a 4% reward checking account. The rate has actually increased since last year. The top rate is now 4.15% APY as of 10/12/2010. However, this now only applies to balances up to $15K. It used to apply to balances of up to $25K. For reward checking, anything over 3% is a good rate these days. However, the $15K balance cap makes the high rate a little less appealing since there are still many reward checking accounts with a $25K cap. For more details about this...

Liberty First Credit Union is offering several competitive CD and IRA CD rates for terms of 2 to 5 years. The best rates require a $75K minimum. These include a 3.15% APY for 5 years, 2.55% APY for 3 years and 2.00% APY for 2 years. The rates are 10 to 15 basis points lower for a $500 minimum. These rates are listed in the credit union's Share and IRA Certificate rates sheet as of 9/06/2010.

Membership is open to those who live, work, worship, attend school or volunteer in Lancaster county, Nebraska....