Competitive Rates on Money Market and 30-Month CD at EBSB Direct

Deal Summary: Money Market Direct, 1.39% APY ($50k+), 0.20% APY ($5k-$50k), minimum $5k opening deposit of new money. 30-month CD, 2.21% APY, $1k minimum deposit, new money, limited-time offer.

From 2010 to 2016, EBSB Direct offered a Money Market account with rates that ranged from 0.80% APY to 1.30% APY. In May 2016, EBSB Direct introduced its Money Market Special 2 (1.08% APY, $10k+), while still maintaining the original Money Market (0.92% APY). In October 2016, EBSB Direct unveiled its Money Market Special 3 (the successor to the MMS2), which had tiered APYs. Only two months later, EBSB Direct stopped accepting new applications for MMS3. This past June, the MMS3 was again available, with the same rate tiers offered in October (1.25% APY, $10k - $2m).

You might expect my next words to be something along the lines of “Money Market Special 4 has been added to the product line,” but you would be wrong. ESBS Direct’s latest offering is the Money Market Direct (MMD), which earns 1.39% APY on balances of $50k+. Balances between $5k and $50k earn 0.20% APY, with balances below $5k earning nothing.

The MMD promotion page reads "New money only," although there is no mention of new money in the Agreements and Disclosure brochure. This is the same conflicting information I ran into when I wrote about MMS3 in June. According to CSR, MMD does require new money, but existing EBSB Direct customers are “not automatically excluded from opening a Money Market Direct account.”

A recent trend has been to lower rates on products that are no longer available to new customers, and then offer a new similar product with competitive rates to bring in new customers. Back in June, I asked if the rate on MMS3s opened prior to December had dropped and I was unable to get an answer. CSR told me that information was only available to MMS3 account holders. I asked that same question again yesterday, and I received the same terse answer.

EBSB Direct’s Agreements and Disclosure brochure provides a great deal of information about the MMD account, including,

COMPOUNDING AND CREDITING – Interest will be compounded monthly and will be credited to your account monthly. If you close your account before interest is credited, you will receive the accrued interest.

MINIMUM BALANCE REQUIREMENTS – You must deposit $5,000.00 to open this account. If you maintain a $5,000.00 minimum daily balance during the statement cycle, the $15.00 monthly maintenance fee will not be assessed. You must maintain a minimum daily balance of $5,000.00 in the account each day to obtain the disclosed annual percentage yield.

FEES AND CHARGES - $15.00 fee for each transfer in excess of six during statement cycle.

Nationally Available CDs

EBSB Direct is currently offering three nationally available CDs – 30-month (2.21% APY), 20-month (1.78% APY), and 16-month (1.56% APY). Any of the CDs require $1k of new money to open, and are limited to personal accounts. Of the three, the 30-month CD is the most competitive. In the past, EBSB Direct has offered competitive CDs that last for a few months and then are withdrawn.

As stated in the Agreements and Disclosures document, the Early Withdrawal Penalty reads as follows:

A penalty will be imposed if you withdraw any of the principal before the maturity date as follows: terms over 12 months to 36 months the penalty will equal 6 months interest on the amount withdrawn.

DIF Deposit Insurance

For those with large savings, EBSB Direct offers more protection 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 EBSB Direct's About Us page,

As a member of both the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the Deposit
Insurance Fund of Massachusetts (DIF), all of your deposits are insured in full. That means that every dollar you have on deposit with East Boston Savings Bank is fully insured without limit.

Availability

Headquartered in Boston, EBSB Direct is a subsidiary of East Boston Savings Bank, and as such, has no brick-and-mortar branches. While U.S. resident aliens were able to open an account online in the past, the online application now reads,

If you are not an existing customer of East Boston Savings Bank,
you must be a U.S. Citizen to open an account with us.

Opening and funding the Money Market Direct and/or the CD must be done online. In the last year, EBSB Direct began to offer its product line nationwide; prior to that change, its market area had been limited to the Northeast.

Bank Overview

As an internet subsidiary of East Boston Savings Bank, EBSB Direct operates under the Bank’s FDIC Certificate (# 33510) and shares its financial history.

EBSB Direct/East Boston Savings Bank has an overall health grade of "A+" at DepositAccounts.com, with a Texas Ratio of 1.96% (excellent) based on June 30, 2017 data. In the past year, the Bank has increased its total non-brokered deposits by $365.36 million, an excellent annual growth rate of 13.41%. Please refer to our financial overview of EBSB Direct/East Boston Savings Bank for more details.

While EBSB Direct was established in 2009, East Boston Savings Bank (established in 1849) can traces its beginning to 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.

168 years later, following growth in size and scope (including a merger with Mt. Washington Cooperative Bank), East Boston Savings Bank is the sixth largest bank in Massachusetts, holding assets in excess of $4.7 billion.

How the Money Market Direct Compares

When compared to the 175 Money Market Accounts tracked by DepositAccounts.com that are nationally available, EBSB Direct's Money Market Direct APY currently ranks third, regardless of minimum balance levels.

To look for the best Money Market Account rates, both nationwide and state specific, please refer to our Money Market Account rates table or our Rates Map page.

How the CD Compares

When compared to the 200 similar length-of-term CDs tracked by DepositAccounts.com that required a similar deposit and are available nationwide, EBSB Direct's 30-Month CD APY currently ranks first.

The above rates are accurate as of 9/14/2017.

To look for the best nationwide CD rates and the best CD rates in your state, please refer to our CD rates table or our Rates Map page.