Dort Financial Credit Union (MI) Adds Competitive 19-Month CD Special
Dort Financial Credit Union (Dort Financial) has unveiled a new 19-month Certificate Special. Offering a competitive 5.00% APY, this limited-time Certificate Special requires a $50k minimum opening deposit.
As stated in the Truth-in-Savings disclosure, the Early Withdrawal Penalty (EWP) reads as follows:
If your account has an original maturity of more than one year:
The penalty we may impose will equal 90 days dividends on the amount withdrawn subject to penalty, whether earned or not.
In other words, the principal may be invaded if a withdrawal is made within 90 days of account opening.
According to the TIS, any early withdrawal is not necessarily guaranteed.
You may make withdrawals of principal from your account before maturity only if we agree at the time you request the withdrawal.
Availability
Headquartered in Grand Blanc, Michigan, Dort Financial Credit Union’s field of membership (FOM) includes anyone who lives, works, worships, or attends school anywhere in Michigan.
Immediate family members (spouse, child, parent, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, including step- and adoptive) of current Dort Financial members or membership-eligible individuals also qualify for membership.
Joining Dort Financial can be done online or at any of ten Michigan branches located in Clio, Davison, Fenton, Flint (3), Grand Blanc, Lapeer, Owosso, and Swartz Creek. Appointments are available and can be scheduled online.
Existing Dort Financial members can open a 19-month Certificate Special at any of the above-mentioned branches or over the phone (810.767.8390 or 800.521.3796). For those joining Dort Financial, opening a 19-month Certificate Special is a two-step process: after the membership application is approved, a Certificate Special can be opened over the phone, with the required documents sent by snail mail for signatures. Note: Dort Financial will be launching a new website in the near future, which (according to CSR) will allow members to open Certificates online.
It’s easy to join – by making a $5 minimum deposit to your Primary Savings Account.
Funding and Other Details
The following information is from a conversation with CSR.
- Funding – ACH, wire, or internal transfer.
- CO-OP Shared Branch Participant – No.
- Dividends – Compounded/credited quarterly and are not withdrawable.
- Maturing Funds – Wire, cashier’s check to address on file or internal transfer to a Dort Financial savings/checking account.
- Beneficiaries – Up to five, with percentages assigned, Social Security numbers are not required.
- Grace Period –10 calendar days before automatic renewal as regular 18-month Certificate.
- Credit Check – Hard pull when joining.
Credit Union Overview
Dort Financial Credit Union has an overall health grade of "A+" at DepositAccounts.com, with a Texas Ratio of 3.32% (excellent) based on September 30, 2022 data. In the past year, Dort Financial has increased its total non-brokered deposits by $62.34 million, an excellent annual growth rate of 5.57%. Please refer to our financial overview of Dort Financial Credit Union (NCUA Charter # 7569) for more details.
Established in 1951 as the Dort Industrial Employees Credit Union, the original FOM included the employees of AC Spark Plug, located on Dort Highway in Flint, Michigan. The Credit Union’s name was changed to Dort Federal Credit Union in 1984 when the FOM was expanded to include other area businesses. Prior to the 2020 change to a statewide charter, eligibility had been limited to four mid-Michigan counties for 18 years. Dort Financial is currently 16th largest credit union in Michigan, with more than 105,000 members and assets in excess of $1.4 billion.
While the Dort name is probably not familiar to most DA readers, it is well known in Michigan. Josiah Dallas Dort, along with Billy Durant, built their carriage maker company,
into the world’s largest. It formed the financial and structural basis for the development of Buick when Durant took that over and brought it to Flint. Dort was a major player in Buick’s growth, and as a result the development of General Motors.
Dort focused heavily on improving the life of those who toiled for the firm, and the city that it was housed in. He became known as “The First Citizen of Flint” for good reason. Land he owned became the college and cultural center, and the entire East Side of the city. He worked with the architect of New York’s Central Park to develop the Flint Parks system, which became world class. He promoted the arts in general and music in particular, and founded the Community Music Association, which later became the Flint Institute of Music.
How the 19-Month Certificate Special Compares
When compared to similar length-of-term CDs tracked by DepositAccounts.com which are available within the FOM, no banks or credit unions have higher rates than currently offered on the Dort Financial Credit Union 19-month Certificate Special, regardless of minimum deposit requirements. The following table compares the 19-month Certificate Special to the two highest-rate CDs from credit unions and to the other two highest-rate CDs from banks.
The above information and rates are accurate as of 2/7/2023.
To look for the best CD rates, both nationwide and state specific, please refer to our CD Rates Table page.
Since I'm getting 4.86% APY in a liquid account that's going to go higher if the Fed continues to raise rates, I'm passing on such opportunities for now. You can even get 5.03% APY from Primis.
What I have done is bought some more 3-5 year CD's since I'm seeing FI's like Bread drop their 5 year APY from 4.75% to 4.25% over the last month or so. My 3 year is at 4.84% (Space Coast CU) and my 5 year is at 4.85% (Freedom CU). What I need is something 5 years or longer at more than 5% APY. The deal at Founders FCU is perfect but their FOM is too restrictive for me to join.
The market doesn't want to believe that the Fed will go much higher or that it will hold rates for an extended period of time. I'm encouraged to see that the labor market is still way out of whack so the Fed will need to continue to be restrictive.