Top 48-Month CD Rate Available At Chicago Credit Union
This week’s CD Rate Summary saw the return of the “Noteworthy Local Deals,” one of which is a 48-month Share Certificate offered by Chicago Municipal Employees Credit Union (CMECU). This long-term Share Certificate currently has tiered APYs of 1.91% ($25k), 1.70% ($10k), and 1.50% ($1k).
| APY | MIN | MAX | INSTITUTION | PRODUCT | DETAILS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.65*% | $25k | - | Chicago Municipal Employees Credit Union | 48 Month Share Certificate | |
| OTHER TIERS: 0.80% → $1k - $10k | 0.90% → $10k - $25k | |||||
The 48-month Share Certificate is a fairly new product, having been introduced in April with rates 30 bps higher. Those rates only lasted for about a month before they dropped to the current levels.
As stated in the Certificate Rate Schedule disclosure the Early Withdrawal Penalty reads as follows:
Terms of more than 1 year – 180 days’ dividends.
Availability
As its name suggests, Chicago Municipal Employees Credit Union’s field of membership (FOM) includes the employees/retirees of the City of Chicago and its sister agencies, which include Chicago Housing Authority (CHA), Chicago Park District, Public Building Commission, Chicago Public Schools (CPS), City Colleges of Chicago (CCC), Chicago Police Department (CPD), Chicago Fire Department (CFD), Chicago Public Libraries, and Chicago Transit Authority (CTA).
Employees, retirees, and members of Metra (commuter rail system), the Municipal Employees’ Annuity and Benefit Fund of Chicago, or the Laborers and Retirement Board also qualify for membership.
Individuals who live or work in portions of Cook County are eligible to join. CMECU’s online application lists the boundaries as follows:
North Boundary: Central Street (Evanston, Skokie, Des Plaines, Morton Grove) going west following Central Road.
East Boundary: Lake Michigan, following the Indiana border to Cook County line.
South Boundary: Cook County border (Richton Park).
West Boundary: Cook County/Will County/Dupage County intersection, then following the Cook County border straight north intersecting with Central Road.
Family members and domestic partners of current CMECU members are welcome to apply for membership.
Joining CMECU and/or opening a Share Certificate can be done online or at any of the three Chicago branches. While branch hours have been changed to 10 am to 3 pm, Monday through Friday, the lobbies are open to walk-in traffic. The Membership Enrollment form is available as a download and a completed form can be returned to any branch location.
You will be asked to make your initial deposit of $35.00 with a secure debit or credit card transaction, or by mailing a check along with your signed application. This includes your $25.00 minimum deposit plus a one-time $10.00 processing fee (the $10 processing fee will be credited to CPS Premium Payroll Account applicants). The $25.00 balance must remain on deposit to maintain your member/owner status and cannot be used.
CMECU participates in the Allpoint ATM networks, giving members access to 55,000 surcharge-free ATMs worldwide.
Credit Union Overview
Chicago Municipal Employees Credit Union has an overall health grade of "B" at DepositAccounts.com, with a Texas Ratio of 6.43% (excellent), based on March 31, 2020 data. CMECU has an excellent capitalization level (12.27%), the result of holding $40.16 million in assets with $4.93 million in equity. Please refer to our financial overview of Chicago Municipal Employees Credit Union (NCUA Charter # 65932) for more details.
Founded in 1926, Chicago Municipal Employees Credit Union is the oldest active credit union in Illinois and was the sixth Illinois credit union to be chartered. In the 1920s,
banks catered exclusively to the wealthy and weren’t interested in providing financial services to average individuals. If a working person needed a loan, the only options were often unscrupulous individuals charging unreasonable rates. Employees of the City of Chicago had steady work, but they were still vulnerable to these loan sharks. Then, members of the Municipal Employees Society got the idea to form a credit union.
CMECU’s first office was located in Room 207 of Chicago’s City Hall, where it remained for 20 years. Since 1946, CMECU headquarters had relocated four times in response to organic growth. CMECU assumed operation of the Austin/West Garfield Federal Credit Union in 2004, opening its first branch location as a result of the acquisition. The Chicago Police Commanding Officers and Sergeants Credit Union and The Health Care Associations Federal Credit Union both merged with CMECU in 2013. CMECU currently has more than 12,300 members, but the 2018 FOM expansion into Cook County is expected to increase membership dramatically.
How the Share Certificate Compares
When compared to 288 similar length-of-term CDs tracked by DepositAccounts.com that are available within the FOM Chicago Municipal Employees Credit Union’s 48-month Share Certificate APY ranks first, regardless of deposit requirements.
The above rates are accurate as of 8/12/2020.
To look for the best CD rates, both nationwide and state specific, please refer to our CD Rates Table page.
