East Boston Savings Bank Brings Back High-Yield Savings (2.50% APY)
If “High-Yield Statement Savings” sounds familiar, it’s because that’s the name of a short-lived account offered by EBSB Direct in October. Lasting about a month, it was abruptly removed from the product line at the beginning of November. East Boston Savings Bank (EBSB), the parent bank of EBSB Direct, has revived an in-branch version of the High-Yield Statement Savings (HYSS) account, which earns 2.50% APY on balances between $5k and $1m. Balances greater than $1m earn 0.25% APY, with balances below $5k earning no interest. The minimum opening deposit is $50 of new money.
| APY | MIN | MAX | INSTITUTION | PRODUCT | DETAILS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2.50*% | $5k | $1m | East Boston Savings Bank | High Yield Statement Savings Special - New Money | |
| OTHER TIERS: 0.25% → $1m+ | |||||
According to the Savings page, new money is required to open an HYSS and “existing customers must deposit additional money from another financial institution.” There is no mention of what the minimum amount of additional new money is required for existing customers, but according to CSR, existing customers must bring at least $5k of new money to qualify.
The Savings page also has a link to the Agreements and Disclosure document, which contains some basic information about the HYSS, but there’s nothing about the minimum amount of additional money from existing customers.
DIF Deposit Insurance
East Boston Savings Banks offers more protection for large deposits through its Depositors Insurance Fund (DIF) membership. The DIF is a private, industry-sponsored insurance fund that insures all deposits above Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) limits at Massachusetts-chartered savings banks. The DIF has been insuring deposits since 1934.
As stated on the FAQ page,
As a member of both the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the Depositors Insurance Fund (DIF), our bank provides full insurance for its customers' deposits and accrued interest without limit or exception. Each depositor is insured by the FDIC to at least $250,000. All deposits above the FDIC insurance amount are insured by the DIF.
Availability
Headquartered in Boston, East Boston Savings Bank’s primary market area is the Greater Boston metropolitan area.
When I wrote about the now-defunct nationally available High-Yield Statement Savings account at EBSB Direct, EBSB also had an online application for residents of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island. This latest version of the HYSS account can only be opened in-branch by U.S. citizens at any of 35 Massachusetts branches located in Allston, Belmont, Boston (9), Brookline (2), Cambridge, Danvers, Dorchester (3), Everett, Lynn, Medford, Melrose, Peabody, Revere (2), Roslindale, Saugus (2), Somerville, South Boston (3), Wakefield, West Roxbury, and Winthrop.
Bank Overview
East Boston Savings Bank has an overall health rating of "A+" at DepositAccounts.com, with a Texas Ratio of 1.15% (excellent) based on June 30, 2018 data. In the past year, the Bank has increased its total non-brokered deposits by $885.4 million, an excellent annual growth rate of 28.66%. Please refer to our financial overview of East Boston Savings Bank (FDIC Certificate # 33510) for more details.
Founded in 1849, East Boston Savings Bank’s rich history began in the Noddle’s Island area, a center of commerce highlighted by shipbuilding, carpentry, sugar-refining, and iron foundries. Those early merchants and world-famous shipbuilders were the leaders in the formation of East Boston Savings Bank.
On January 17, 1849, the first official business day of the Bank, 57 people deposited $2,999 at the Bank’s Maverick Square Office. The next day, the Bank’s Board of Investment voted to purchase 15 shares of stock in the Merchant’s Bank of Boston and so began over 16 decades of growth, prosperity and prudent asset management for the merchants and residents of East Boston.
169 years later, following growth in size and scope (including a merger with Mt. Washington Cooperative Bank in 2010 and Meetinghouse Bank in late 2017), East Boston Savings Bank is currently the sixth largest bank in Massachusetts, holding assets in excess of $5.6 billion.
How the High-Yield Statement Savings Compares
When compared to 396 Savings Accounts tracked by DepositAccounts.com that are available within the market area, East Boston Savings Bank’s High-Yield Statement Savings APY currently ranks first, regardless of minimum balance requirements.
| Interest Rate | Account Name | Credit Union/Bank |
|---|---|---|
| 2.50% APY | High-Yield Statement Savings ($5k min/$1m max) | East Boston Savings Bank |
| 2.25% APY | Online Savings ($5k min/no max) | Citizens Access |
| 2.20% APY | High Yield Savings Online (no min/no max) | PNC Bank |
The above rates are accurate as of 11/9/2018.
Looking for the best Savings Account rates, both nationwide and state specific? Please refer to our Savings Account Rates page.
"Good faith" " What about the the banks and CUs that issue CDs in "good faith" and the depositors abandon them in a flash when just for a couple of tenths higher percentage rate at another bank or CU? "Good faith" used to apply to both sides.
Ken's tool below has been quite helpful in determining when to make a move out of an underperforming CD and the gain from making such a move:
https://www.depositaccounts.com/tools/break-cd-calculator.aspxe:
If the money float is 30 days and over the banks receive extra interest from the notes and the bonds they sweep the money into.
There is no good or bad bank(s), they try to make a buck as well as we do. Some banks use trickeries like add on CDs, special new account required, new money only, long holds, slow transfers, limited ACH amounts and so on.
https://www.ebsb.com/personal/rates
https://www.omnicalculator.com/finance/apy
https://www.ebsb.com/uploads/pdf/agreements-and-disclosures.pdf
You'll see that the interest rate (APR) is 2.47% and the APY is 2.50%.
Since the document is dated Oct. 2018, and it's linked on the bank's website to explain the current rate as of Nov. 8, I gather the rate has not changed. The CSR must have been confused.