Community First Credit Union Brings Back 15- and 20-Month CD Specials

After a five-month hiatus, Community First Credit Union (Community First) is again offering its competitive 15-month and 20-month CD Specials. Three changes have been made to the CD Specials since they were last available: the current rate is 1.50% APY (50 bps higher than offered in September 2021); the minimum deposit is $5k (lower than previous $10k); and these limited-time offers are only available to “members of the credit union as of March 19, 2022.” While there is no end-date specified, Community First CD Specials have historically been available for several weeks.

Both CD Specials are also available as IRA CD Specials (Traditional, Roth, and CESA) earning the same APY, with the same deposit requirement and member availability.

According to CSR, the Early Withdrawal Penalty (EWP) for 15-month and 20-month CDs is 180 days dividends, with partial withdrawals permitted.

Dividends are compounded/credited monthly and can be added back into the CD, transferred to another Community First account, or a check can be mailed to the address on file.

Maturing funds will be distributed through a check or transferred into an existing Community First checking or savings account.

Availability

Headquartered in Appleton, Wisconsin, Community First Credit Union’s field of membership (FOM) is community-based, with individuals who live, work, or attend school in the northeast Wisconsin counties of Brown, Calumet, Fond du Lac, Green Lake, Kewaunee, Manitowoc, Oconto, Outagamie, Shawano, Sheboygan, Waushara, Waupaca, or Winnebago, eligible to join.

Opening a CD Special can be done in-person at any 20 Wisconsin branches located in Appleton (6), Bellevue, De Pere, Green Bay, Greenville, Kimberly, Manitowoc, Menasha, Neenah (3), Nichols, Oshkosh (2), and Waupaca. Appointments can be scheduled by calling the appropriate branch location.

Current Community First members can open a CD Special by phone (920.830.7200 or 866.273.2328), by using the Online Banking platform, or by scheduling an in-branch appointment.

Credit Union Overview

Community First Credit Union has an overall health grade of "A+" at DepositAccounts.com, with a Texas Ratio of 0.65% (excellent) based on December 31, 2021 data. In the past year, Community First has increased its total non-brokered deposits by $658.12 million, an excellent annual growth rate of 18.25%. Please refer to our financial overview of Community First Credit Union (NCUA Charter # 66642) for more details.

While most credit unions owe their existence to groups of people with common bonds joining forces, Community First Credit Union seems to have been single-handedly established by Maurice Dresang. In 1953, Dresang organized the Outagamie County Credit Union and was subsequently asked to manage the Zwickernit Credit Union in 1966, and the Postal Employees Credit Union in 1969. In 1970, Dresang brought all three credit unions under one roof at the Appleton Credit Union Service Center.

The Appleton Area Credit Union (composed of Outagamie, Zwikernit and Postal Employees CUs) obtained a charter in 1975 and merged with the 13 Service Center credit unions in less than three years. The Community First Credit Union re-brand occurred in 1983. As Wisconsin’s second largest credit union, Community First currently has nearly 149,000 members and assets in excess of $4.9 billion.

How the 15-Month and 20-CD Specials Compare

When compared to similar length-of-term CDs tracked by DepositAccounts.com which are available within the FOM and have minimum deposit requirements of $10k or less, no other credit unions or banks currently offer a higher rate than offered on either the First Community Credit Union 15-month or 20-month CD Special. The following table compares the 15-month and 20-month CD Specials to the two highest-rate CDs from other credit unions and the two highest-rate CDs from banks.

The above information and rates are accurate as of 3/22/2022.

To look for the best CD rates, both nationwide and state specific, please refer to our CD Rates Table page.