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High Rates
No complaints so far. Rate is the highest among area banks
Easy Opening Process & CSR Access
I just opened a new savings account at this financial institution (FI). The opening process was easy, fast, and painless. I did not have to provide any type of documentation. I was completely vetted by the security questions asked during the signup process.
Since I'm a rate chaser, I needed to know that there are no monetary limitations or loopholes set in place by the FI to trap my funds there for any period of time if I decide to withdraw funds or close the account for whatever the reason.
The CSR answered the telephone quickly, spoke fluent English, answered all my questions in great detail that I could not find answers for, and clarified those that I needed to reaffirm. Below are the answers to those questions that I asked:
1. No fees if you wish to close the account prior to a specific time period. Account can be closed at any time as long as it is in good standing.
2. Accrued interest will be paid if the account is closed through the date of closure. (See also #5 below)
3. Interest compounds daily and is paid monthly on each statement cycle.
4. No ACH limits for PUSH/PULLS initiated from external source(s).
5. No low balance fee if balance drops below the $25.00 opening deposit, however no interest will be earned/credited while the balance is below the $25.00 threshold for those specific days, not the entire statement cycle.
6. Account is considered inactive when no deposits or withdrawals are being made for a period of one (1) year. Account will then become dormant, and will be considered abandoned. A $20.00 account processing fee will be charged to your account before the funds are escheated to the state.
Avoid This Button!
"By clicking here, I agree that you, your agents or affiliates can use my mobile number to contact me about any product or services I obtain or are obtaining from you using an automated dialing system or pre-recorded messages."
I'ts a button to spam you. Also the verification sistem failed for me... I haven't moved in 3 years and have all my paper work rock solid.
Write Down Account Number After Opening Account.
I didn't have any problems when opening savings account with BrioDirect (Sterling National Bank). Sterling sent 2 small deposits to my checking account at another bank. The verification process completed after 2 business days. I requested an inbound ACH transfer of 10K after the external account was verified. Everything went well until I requested an inbound ACH transfer of very large amount to my savings account at Sterling. Money was withdrawn from my external account, and my account was locked after 2 days the money was withdrawn my external account. A Sterling customer service representative tried to reach out to me via phone; she left a message on my phone. I called Sterling the following day and talked with B. He asked my account number at Sterling. I told him I couldn't give him the account number because my account was locked and didn't receive the first statement yet. I asked B he could search for my account number based on info I gave to him (SSN, BD, home address, phone number). I told him I would give him all information so he could verify my identity and told me why my account was locked. He wasn't helpful at all; he refused to do that. I understood he did that to protect my identity, but I didn't have the account number since I just opened savings account with Sterling less than a month ago. I finally remembered I wrote down the account number right after opening the account. I told B that he could wait for me so I could get the account number on my laptop for him. He said he had to talk with other customers and hang up the phone. I was so upset. I finally got the account number from my laptop after 1 minute. I called Sterling again and provided the account number. I asked B whether my account was compromised, and he said no. He told me Sterling suspected illegal INBOUND ACH transfer request. I told B that Sterling already verified my external account before I could transfer 10K when I opened my account almost a month ago. B demanded me to send in my driver license and external bank account statement so Sterling could unlock my account. I sent them the copy of my driver license and bank account statements. What a pain!
Updated Sept 15, 2019:
My account was finally unlocked after sending copies of my driver license and recent external bank statements via secure email. I finally got an email notice of first electronic statement from Sterling. I just downloaded the statement but only saw the last 4 digit of my account on the first statement. Therefore, if you plan to open the savings account with Sterling, make sure you write down the account number. If you don't have the account number, there is no way you can talk with any customer service representatives. They don't bother to listen to you when you try to explain why you can't give the account number. If you ask to talk with their manager/supervisor, they will say there is nothing to talk to their manager/supervisor when you don't have the account number.
Updated Sept 28, 2019:
I could request an inbound ACH transfer more than 25K/day when I opened account, but I couldn't request an outbound ACH transfer more than 25K/day this week. 25K/day and 125K/month are outbound ACH transfer limits. ACH transfers take at least 3 business days to clear for inbound or outbound transfers. I requested 2 outbound ACH transfers; I scheduled 2 transfers last weekend. The first transfer was on Monday; money was withdrawn from Sterling savings account on Tuesday. The second transfer was on Tuesday; the transfer was canceled by Sterling without any email notice. Today I checked my checking account at another bank and didn't see the second transfer. I just logged into Sterling savings account and noticed the transfer was canceled. I couldn't believe that Sterling canceled my outbound ACH transfer request without letting me know via email or phone call.
Updated 12/03/2019:
I requested ACH transfer 2 days ago. Money was withdrawn from my external account today. Sterling froze my account again. I have to call Sterling customer service again. What a nightmare!
Data as of Q4 2019
Health Grade Components
| Overall | |
|---|---|
| FDIC Certificate # | 30337 |
| Year Established | 1895 |
| Employees | 1639 |
| Primary Regulator | OCC |
| Profit Margin | |
|---|---|
| Return on Assets - YTD | 1.47% |
| Return on Equity - YTD | 9.86% |
| Annual Interest Income | $1.20B |
| Assets and Liabilities | ||
|---|---|---|
| Assets | Q4 2019vs Q4 2018 | $30.57B$31.33B |
| Loans | Q4 2019vs Q4 2018 | $21.34B$20.69B |
| Deposits | Q4 2019vs Q4 2018 | $22.74B$21.34B |
| Equity Capital | Q4 2019vs Q4 2018 | $4.64B$4.51B |
| Loan Loss Allowance | Q4 2019vs Q4 2018 | $106.2MM$95.7MM |
| Unbacked Noncurrent Loans | Q4 2019vs Q4 2018 | $179.2MM$170.9MM |
| Real Estate Owned | Q4 2019vs Q4 2018 | $12.2MM$19.4MM |