Connexus Credit Union Ups 60-Month CD Rate to 3.40% APY
Connexus Credit Union (Connexus) raised the rates on its Share Certificates (SC) yesterday, making its 60-month SC (3.40% APY) the rate leader for nationally available 5-year CDs. The other new competitive rate belongs to the 36-month SC, which now earns 3.10% APY. The minimum opening deposit for any Share Certificate is $5k, with no stated balance cap.
Connexus Share Certificates are offered as IRAs (Traditional and Roth), earning the same APYs with the same funding requirements.
During the past six months, the 60-month SC has offered a couple of short-lived, very competitive rates. In November, the rate was boosted to 4.00% APY, which lasted about three weeks before dropping to 3.50% APY. The next rate increase (3.63% APY in mid-January) only lasted two weeks before falling back to 3.50% APY. By the end of February, the rate had settled at 3.00% APY, where it remained until yesterday’s addition of 40 bps.
As long-time DA readers remember, Connexus was a prolific producer of competitive CDs during 2015 and 2016. Beginning in 2017 rates started to drop, Share Certificate Specials dried up, and suddenly, Connexus was no longer outpacing the rates peloton. In January 2018, Connexus made a comeback of sorts, by raising the rates on all its Share Certificates, and more importantly, offering the first nationally available 3.00% 5-year CD. With the exception of the 60-month SC 4.00% APY offered last November, consistently great rates at Connexus have been become fond memories.
As stated in the FAQs, the Early Withdrawal Penalty reads as follows:
If your account has an original maturity of more than one year, but less than five years:
The penalty will equal 180 days dividends on the amount withdrawn subject to penalty.If your account has an original maturity of five years or greater:
The penalty will equal 365 days dividends on the amount withdrawn subject to penalty.
Funding and Maturing Funds
CSR stated in Live Chat that a Share Certificate can be funded through ACH, wire transfer, or by check. There is a 10-day grace period before a Share Certificate automatically renews. At maturity, a check can be issued at no charge or funds can be transferred into another Connexus account. An outgoing ACH transfer is possible, but there are limitations:
If the amount is $25,000 or under an ACH could be processed with a $10 fee.
Anything over $25,000 would need to be wired and a $20 fee would apply.
Thanks to the DA reader, Aggie, for the Forum post about Connexus’ new Certificate rates.
Availability
Headquartered in Wausau, Wisconsin, Connexus Credit Union offers almost any US citizen or alien resident with a valid Social Security number a way to join.
Easy membership requirement – Membership in Connexus Credit Union is open to virtually anyone by joining the Connexus Association, with a one-time $5 donation that will directly benefit one of many supported organizations.
Employment or Affiliation – Employees, retirees, family members, or members of 16 companies and organizations (including Liberty Mutual Insurance) qualify for membership.
Residency – Individuals who live in any of the following communities are eligible to join:
Minnesota – Brooklyn Center, Crystal, Golden Valley, Hopkins, Minneapolis, New Hope, Robbinsdale, or St. Louis Park.
Ohio – Cincinnati metro area.
Wisconsin – Rothschild, Schofield, Wausau, or Weston, or the counties of Adams, Juneau, Portage, Waushara, or Wood
Relationship – “Spouses, family members, and those living in the same household of an existing member” also qualify.
Complete eligibility details are listed Connexus’ Membership Eligibility page.
Joining Connexus and/or opening a Share Certificate can be done either online, or in person at any of the eight full-service Wisconsin branches located in Wausau (5), Weston (2), and Wisconsin Rapids, or the two Ohio branches open to the public, both located in Cincinnati. Connexus also has branches exclusively for Liberty Mutual employees in Dover and Portsmouth, New Hampshire; Fairfield, Ohio; and Wausau, Wisconsin. As the result of a merger with Endura Financial Federal Credit Union, Connexus now has four branches in Minnesota, located in Brooklyn Center, Golden Valley, and Minneapolis.
You will also be asked to make a $5 deposit into your savings account to establish your membership. That deposit is yours to withdraw should you decide to cancel your Connexus Credit Union membership.
Note: According to the FAQs, “It can take up to three business days for an application to be approved or denied.
As a member of the CO-OP Shared Branching network, Connexus provides its members with access to more than 5,600 shared branches throughout the country.
Credit Union Overview
Connexus Credit Union has an overall health grade of "A" at DepositAccounts.com, with a Texas Ratio of 7.91% (excellent), based on December 31, 2018 data. In the past year, Connexus increased its total non-brokered deposits by $550.3 million, an excellent annual growth rate of 41.21%. Please refer to our financial overview of Connexus Credit Union (NCUA Charter # 66538) for more details.
Founded in 1935, the Credit Union was originally established to serve the employees of Employer’s Mutual, the predecessor of Wausau Insurance (1980). In 1998, Wausau Insurance was acquired by Liberty Mutual Insurance and membership was extended to all Liberty Mutual employees and retirees nationwide. Over the next 21 years, through acquisitions, mergers, and expansion, Connexus increased its membership to more than 347,000 members, with over $2.7 billion in assets.
How the Share Certificates Compare
When compared to 179 similar length-of-term CDs tracked by DepositAccounts.com that require a minimum deposit of $10k or less and are available nationally, Connexus Credit Union's 60-month Share Certificate APY currently ranks first.
When compared to 204 similar length-of-term CDs tracked by DepositAccounts.com that require a minimum deposit of $10k or less and are available nationally, Connexus Credit Union's 36-month Share Certificate APY currently ranks first.
The above rates are accurate as of 5/9/2019.
To look for the best CD rates, both nationwide and state specific, please refer to our CD Rates Table page.
Regarding Connexus' 12 month EWP, I wouldn't worry about breaking the CD to purchase a nationally available CD with a higher rate, as that possibility doesn't look too promising with many financial institutions now lowering CD rates.
Rates for long and mid-term CDs have recently been trending lower week by week. Turning your nose up at a 3.40% 5 years CD might not be wise at this juncture. Lately, there have been only a few local banks and credit unions offering 4% CDs, which are NOT available nationwide. The likelihood that a 4% nationwide CD will be offered several months following your purchase of a 3.40% Connexus CD is slim. Depending on how much cash you have on hand for CD purchases, you can use part of that amount now to lock in a 3.40% CD rate and take a chance with the remainder, waiting for that elusive 4% nationwide CD offer. The rate is higher than the 3% offered by PenFed 5 years ago. This MAY be the highest rate offered for a CD for the next few years. If you're using retirement funds for the CD purchases, you have to make a decision very soon. Procrastinating could cost you some serious money.
4 yr at 4% is still pretty attractive though.
And for the 3-year, Connexus is way ahead of Pioneer Valley regardless of how much you deposit.
(Additionally, Pioneer Valley membership is not nationally available.)
As for "quick money grab," I'd interpret this as "secured sufficient funding" for whatever project needed quick attention or maybe even "black Friday/holiday season reward for existing members."
I feel similarly every time someone here complains that fed policy being flat doesn't justify this, that, or the other thing that an FI does. If the FI doesn't have prospects to convert our deposits into income producing loans/activities, why would they keep encouraging deposits by leading the rate tables?
Also, most institutions that offer the highest rates are doing so for promotion. The leaders constantly change. Penfed and Ally were once leaders, now they are laggards.
XCEL had a deal in the past. The goal was to raise 21 million in funds and stop their offer when that threshold was met regardless of the timeftame.
I had problems with Ally bank and will not do business with them. Some here like Ally
5% would kill the growth you're witnessing so it won't happen...until they want another economic disaster.