CIT Bank’s New Savings Account with a 1.15% APY and Up To $400 Bonus

Deal Summary: Higher savings account rate (1.15% APY) and cash bonus of up to $400.

The competition among internet banks is starting to heat up. The latest internet bank to come out with higher rates is CIT Bank. Late Thursday CIT Bank began offering the Spring Savings Account with a 1.15% APY. This APY applies to all balances. Minimum opening deposit is $100. After the account is opened, there is no minimum balance. Also, there is no monthly maintenance fee.

CIT Bank continues to offer its other incentive to open its savings account: a cash bonus of up to $400. To qualify for the cash bonus, open a Spring Savings account by June 30, 2017 and meet the following requirements related to new money and minimum balance:

The minimum balance to qualify for the bonus is $15k of new money, which is defined as funds not already be on deposit at CIT Bank or its OneWest Bank division “at any time during the 90 days preceding account opening.” Existing customers can qualify, but a new Spring Savings Account must be opened, and must also be funded with new money.

There are actually three bonus amounts ($100, $250, $400), which are determined by the “lowest average monthly balance from among the first three full monthly statement cycles” as shown below:

As stated on the Spring Savings' promotion page, the calculation of the average monthly balance for each statement cycle is determined as follows:

At the end of each day, the Spring Savings account balance is recorded. When the statement cycle ends, these end-of-day balances are added together and then divided by the number of days in the statement cycle to determine the average monthly balance.

If you qualify for the bonus, it will be deposited to the account within 45 days of the end of the third monthly statement cycle.

Please refer to CIT Bank’s promotion page for the full details and to open the account.

Spring Savings Account Overview

The Spring Savings Account replaces CIT Bank’s High Yield Savings Account for new non-IRA accounts. The High Yield Savings Account is being retired for non-IRA accounts. If you already have a High Yield Savings account, it continues to earn 1.05% APY as of today, and the rate may fall in the future. To receive the new higher rate requires opening the new Spring Savings Account which is available to existing customers. This can be expedited by first logging into CIT Bank online banking before opening the new account.

The Spring Savings Account has the same features as the retired High Yield Savings Account. Minimum opening deposit is $100. After the account is opened, there is no minimum balance. Also, there is no monthly maintenance fee.

CIT Bank has a history of maintaining competitive savings account rates. From the time CIT Bank first launched the High Yield Savings Account in April 2012, the APY has ranged from 0.80% to 1.05%. The last rate increase was in January of this year when the APY increased from 0.95% to 1.05%.

CIT Bank’s ACH electronic funds transfer system allows money to be moved to and from accounts at external institutions fee-free. Once the account is opened, you can set up multiple links to external accounts. According to a CIT Bank CSR, there are no limits to the number of links, and there’s no limit on the dollar amount for ACH transfers. The number of ACH withdrawals are limited to six per statement cycle, as required by federal regulation.

Availability

Headquartered in Pasadena, California, CIT Bank is a "pure" internet bank, having no brick-and-mortar branches. Accounts can be opened by U.S. citizens or resident aliens, 18 years or older.

Applying for the Spring Savings Account can be done using CIT Bank’s online application. Funding can be done with an electronic funds transfer from an outside bank account. As is typical with setting up an ACH transfer, you provide CIT Bank with the routing and account number of your outside account. Other options include mailing a check or performing a wire transfer.

Bank Overview

In 2015, CIT Bank merged with OneWest Bank. The resulting institution is a national bank (National Association) and was re-named CIT Bank, N.A. The OneWest Bank brand remains intact, but now operates as a division of CIT Bank, N.A. Deposits at CIT Bank and OneWest will be counted together for purposes of determining FDIC insurance coverage limits. As of December 31, 2016, the Bank now has combined assets of more than $42 billion and deposits of more than $32 billion.

The new bank (CIT Bank, N.A.) took the financial history and FDIC Certificate number of OneWest Bank (FDIC Certificate # 58978). Based on December 31, 2016 data, CIT Bank, N.A. has an overall health grade at DepositAccounts.com of “A”, with a Texas Ratio of 9.94% (excellent) and is currently financially strong. Please refer to our financial overview of CIT Bank for more details.

It’s important not to confuse CIT Bank with Citigroup Inc., which is the bank holding company of Citibank. CIT Bank is one of the businesses that makes up CIT Group Inc., a bank holding company best known for providing commercial financing and other services to small and middle market businesses.

OneWest Bank used to be IndyMac Bank. Following the FDIC brokered sale of IndyMac in March 2009, the Bank was re-branded as OneWest Bank. A portion of OneWest Bank’s growth came from the acquisitions of failed banks: in December 2009, First Federal Bank of California was acquired, followed by the acquisition of La Jolla Bank in February 2010.

How the CIT Bank Spring Savings Account Compares

When compared to the 208 Savings Accounts tracked by DepositAccounts.com that are available nationally with similar balance requirements, CIT Bank’s Spring Savings APY is tied with Popular Direct’s High Rise Savings Account in fourth place.

The above rates are accurate as of 5/5/2017.

To review the top Savings Account rates, both nationwide and state specific, please refer to our Savings Account rates table or our new Rates Map page.