BMO Harris Bank Has A Special Rate 60-Month CD
BMO Harris Bank has joined the 3 for 5 Club with its 60-month Special Rate CD (3.00% APY). The minimum opening deposit is $5k, with no stated balance cap. There are two other Special Rate CDs, 18-month (2.00% APY) and 30-month (2.25% APY), but the 60-month is the most competitive.
| APY | MIN | MAX | INSTITUTION | PRODUCT | DETAILS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.25*†% | $5k | - | BMO Harris Bank | 60 Month CD Special | |
| 2.75*†% | $5k | - | BMO Harris Bank | 30 Month CD Special | |
| 2.50*†% | $5k | - | BMO Harris Bank | 18 Month CD Special |
According to the fine print on the promotion page,
Maximum opening deposit of $100,000 per CD applied for online. The CD must be funded within 10 business days of online application. Funds from CDs applied for online may not be withdrawn for the first 11 days after funding. CDs applied for online can only be in individual or joint ownership and are not available for IRAs.
The Early Withdrawal Penalty for the 60-month CD is harsh. As stated in the CD Disclosure, the Early Withdrawal Penalty reads, in part, as follows:
CD terms of 48 months or longer, you will be charged 545 days interest.
Availability
Headquartered in Chicago, BMO Harris Bank’s market area is comprised of Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, and Wisconsin.
The Special Rate CDs can be opened online, or at any of the more than 570 full-service branches located in Arizona (47), Florida (22), Illinois (191), Indiana (63), Kansas (8), Minnesota (22), Missouri (20), and Wisconsin (199), or by calling 888.340.2265.
The online application is a bit deceptive. It asks for your Zip Code, so as a test, I entered a few different Zip Codes from states that have branches and those that don’t. No matter what Zip Code I entered, the same message appeared.
You may continue your application with the account shown below.
You may also select additional products from the below section.
I had clicked on the 60-month Certificate “Open Now” link, so the 60-month Certificate was listed. SInce I hadn’t heard anything about BMO Harris offering nationally available CDs, I called to the Bank for more information. According to CSR, you must live in a state where the Bank has branches to open any of the Special Rate Certificates online. When I described my experience, CSR stated, “that should not have happened.” He speculated that if I continued with the online application process and entered an out-of-market-area Zip Code, the application shouldn’t let me continue any further. Just a word to the wise.
Bank Overview
BMO Harris Bank has an overall health grade of "B+" rating at DepositAccounts.com, with a Texas Ratio of 5.88% (excellent) based on September 30, 2017 data. BMO Harris Bank has an excellent capitalization level of 15.39%, the result of holding $106.19 billion in assets with $16.34 billion in equity. Please refer to our financial overview of BMO Harris Bank (FDIC Certificate # 16571) for more details.
BMO Harris Bank can trace its origins to the Glencoe National Bank, which was established in 1947 in Glencoe, Illinois. Almost 40 years later, the name was changed to Harris Bank Glencoe-Northbrook, N.A. May 2005 was a busy month for the Bank: the acquisition of 26 Illinois banks, the Bank headquarters moving to Chicago, and another name change (Harris National Association). The next six years saw another 11 acquisitions and the BMO Harris re-brand. BMO Harris Bank is currently the second largest bank headquartered in Illinois and the 25th largest bank in the country.
How the Special Rate CD Compares
When compared to the similar length-of-term CDs tracked by DepositAccounts.com that require a similar minimum deposit and are available within the Bank’s market area, BMO Harris Bank’s 60-month CD APY currently shares the top spot with Connexus Credit Union’s 60-month Certificate and Mountain America Credit Union’s 5-year Term Deposit.
The above rates are accurate as of 2/26/2018.
To look for the best CD rates, both nationwide and state specific, please refer to our CD Rates Table page.
And sometimes, the issue is simply that the money is needed for an unexpected and unforeseeable reason. I ran across a stat a few weeks ago - "on average, in the U.S., 80% of all LIFETIME medical expenses (the bolding is mine) are incurred during the final 6 months of life."
So yes, CDs get broken unexpectedly, thus in some cases EWP's may be an item to consider.
People miss out on some of the top CDs worrying about EWPs.
When it comes to internet blog sites, "trust, but verify" is the key to separating fact from fiction.
Of course it's suspect but I'm not going to put any institution's personal statements online. The point is...ask your institution what THEIR partial withdrawal policy is. Many CU's are VERY customer-oriented.
With good financial planning there is never a need to. You should try it.