Special 5-Year CD Rate at Androscoggin Bank in Maine - Local Only

Androscoggin Bank is offering a special CD that it calls the 12345 Certificate of Deposit. It has a blended APY of 3.05% APY for a term of 5 years. It's a step-up type of CD with rates that go up each year (1st year 1.00%, 2nd year 2.02%, 3rd year 3.04%, 4th year 4.07%, 5th year 5.12%). Minimum deposit is $500 for both a regular and IRA CD. This special CD is listed in the bank's rates page as of 5/12/2011.

It appears that a branch visit is required to open an account. Androscoggin Bank branches are located in several cities across Maine including Portland, Auburn, Brunswick and Lewiston.

The bank has an overall health score at DepositAccounts.com of 4 stars (out of 5) with a Texas Ratio of 12.69% (above average) based on December 2010 data. Please refer to our financial overview of Androscoggin Bank for more details. The bank has been a FDIC member since 1957 (FDIC Certificate # 17751).

Step-Up CD and How It Compares with the Best CD Rates

The only advantage that I can see with this step-up type of CD is that your taxes should be less in the early years when the interest rate is low (assuming the bank doesn't average the interest for 1099 reporting). The one downside is that the low rate will hurt you for an early withdrawal. If you keep the CD until maturity, it'll be a good deal when you consider the best nationally available CD rate is 3.00% APY at Connexus Credit Union. This requires an active checking account. The second best is still Melrose Credit Union which is offering a 2.93% APY 5-year CD.

To search for the best nationwide CD rates and the best CD rates in your state, please refer to the CD rates section of DepositAccounts.com.