Beacon Community Bank CDs Continue To Be Near Rate Leaders

Beacon Community Bank (Beacon) added CDs to its product line in the fall of 2020 and all those initial rates have remained in effect. In April, I wrote about Beacon’s long-term CDs. all of which offered the same rate (1.00% APY). As most CD rates have dropped in the past few months, Beacon’s entire CD product line has become quite competitive simply by maintaining its 2020 rates. The minimum opening deposit for any Beacon CD is $250 and there is no stated balance cap.

As stated on the Disclosures page, the Early Withdrawal Penalty reads as follows:

A penalty of 6 months interest on the amount withdrawn may be
imposed for early withdrawals for terms 12 months and under.

A penalty of 12 months interest on the amount withdrawn may be
imposed for early withdrawals for terms greater than 12 months.

The Disclosure also states that,

Interest will be compounded and credited annually for terms equal to and greater than one year.

Availability

Headquartered in Charleston, South Carolina, Beacon Community Bank’s market area includes the greater Charleston metropolitan area.

Opening any type of account with Beacon must be done in person at any of three South Carolina branches, located in Charleston (2) and Mount Pleasant. As promised a few months ago, the new Fairchild Street branch (Charleston) has opened.

There is no mention of any COVID-related branch restrictions (appointments, limited hours, temporary closures, etc.) on Beacon’s website.

Bank Overview

Beacon Community Bank has an overall health grade of "A+" at DepositAccounts.com, with a Texas Ratio of 0.00% (excellent, and not a typo) based on March 31, 2021 data. In the past year, Beacon has increased its total non-brokered deposits by $110.877 million, an excellent annual growth rate of 93.18%. Please refer to our financial overview of Beacon Community Bank (FDIC Certificate # 59106) for more details.

While there wasn’t a lack of banks in the Charleston area in 2017, the number of locally-owned banks had dwindled from seven to one through a series of mergers and acquisitions in the previous ten years. A group of local business-people realized that,

local businesses needed a better banking partner to continue to fuel that growth – a bank that was local, and understood the needs and demands of our community, as well as a bank that provided swift decision making and concierge service.

On January 8, 2018, Beacon Community Bank opened for business with capital of more than $34 million raised by 300+ local individual investors. In just over three years, Beacon Community Bank has grown to become South Carolina’s 26^th largest bank, with assets in excess of $300 million.

How the CDs Compare

When compared to 219 similar length-of-term CDs tracked by DepositAccounts.com that require a similar minimum deposit and are available within the market area, Beacon Community Bank’s 24-month CD APY currently shares the top spot with Lafayette Federal Credit Union’s 2-year Fixed CD APY and CommunityWide Federal Credit Union’s 24-month Share Certificate APY.

When compared to 220 similar length-of-term CDs tracked by DepositAccounts.com that require a similar minimum deposit and are available within the market area, Beacon Community Bank’s 30-month CD APY currently ranks second.

When compared to 171 similar length-of-term CDs tracked by DepositAccounts.com that require a similar minimum deposit and are available within the market area, Beacon Community Bank’s 18-month CD APY currently second.

When compared to 235 similar length-of-term CDs tracked by DepositAccounts.com that require a similar minimum deposit and are available within the market area, Beacon Community Bank’s 12-month CD APY currently third.

The above information and rates are accurate as of 7/19/2021.

Looking for the best CD rates, both nationwide and in your state? Please refer to our CD Rates Table page.