4.18% 12-Month CD / 4.18% 24-Month CD at a California CU (Educational Employees).

POSTED ON BY

Update 3/22/08: The CD rates have gone down. Please check the financial institution's website for the latest rates.

Update 3/15/08: The CD rates have fallen. For the Jumbo CDs, the 12-month CD yield has fallen from 4.30% to 4.18% APY, and the 24-month CD yield has fallen from 4.25% to 4.18% APY. The title has been modified to reflect this change.
Update 3/8/08: The CD rates have fallen. For the Jumbo CDs, the 12-month CD yield has fallen from 4.80% to 4.30% APY, and the 24-month CD yield has fallen from 4.59% to 4.25% APY.
Update 3/1/08: The CD rates have fallen. For the Jumbo CDs, the 12-month CD yield has fallen from 4.91% to 4.80% APY and the 24-month CD yield has fallen from 4.70% to 4.59% APY. The title has been modified to reflect this change.

Educational Employees Credit Union has some competitive certificate rates. The highest yield is 4.91% APY for a 12-month term with a minium deposit of $100,000. The 6 and 24-month Jumbo CDs also have a competitive yield of 4.70% APY. Lower yields are available for smaller minimum deposits. Those are still competitive. A yield of 4.80% APY is available with a $10,000 minimum for the one-year CD.

Five percent yields are available for IRA share certificates. Yields range from 5.01% APY for a 12-month term to 5.17% APY for terms of 3 to 5 years.

Membership is open to employees and students of many school systems in California. Please refer to their Membership Eligibility page for the full details. A reader emailed me that he was able to qualify for membership through membership in the FHSAA (Fresno High School Alumni Association). The reader mentioned the following:
On the membership form, where it asks for class year, I wrote: Joining as friend/supporter. The rest is straightforward. I only joined the FHSAA after contacting them and confirming that my application would be acceptable to them.

Please check with the credit union for the official membership qualifications.

The downside to this credit union is that the membership process is slow if you don't live near a branch. Rates are subject to change every Tuesday, so the rates described above should remain at least through next Monday, February 25th. The reader mentioned that the CD rates fell slightly this morning after holding for the previous two weeks, so there's a chance that the rates may hold for an additional week.

Here's the membership process described by the reader:
This CU requires prospective new members to fill out and sign (what they call) a "Master Account Card" which they mail out via the USPS. To guarantee receiving the rate just posted this morning, one would have to request a membership/account opening package, which includes the blank "Master Account Card" today by calling them, and then overnight the completed form back to them, along with a check, so that everything would be received in Fresno no later than next Monday, February 25. I know of no way to do all this on the net, via fax, or by using any other, faster way. And believe me, I tried to discover a faster alternative within their rules.

That said, when I followed their rules, my overnighted membership and account opener was processed, and my accounts were opened, on day of receipt in Fresno. And I received the rate promised.

Thanks to the reader for emailing me these details!

Branches are located in the California cities of Clovis, Fresno, Hanford, Merced, Selma and Visalia. The credit union is federally insured by the NCUA (Charter # 60520). It's a large credit union with $1.5 billion in assets and 152,769 members.
Related Pages: CD rates, IRA rates

Comments
Anonymous
  |     |   Comment #1
Thanks, Banking Guy. Forgot to mention, when overnighting your new account opener and deposit check to EECU, use their physical address: 2222 West Shaw Avenue, Fresno, CA, 93711. This avoids the possibility of your mailing getting stuck overnight in their PO Box, if it arrives after they pick up. Use of the physical address forces delivery to their actual B&M location. This counsel only applies if you overnight using USPS Express Mail service. Fedex and UPS overnight services REQUIRE a physical address and are automatically delivered to the physical location - but both these services cost significantly more than Express Mail.
Banking Guy
  |     |   Comment #2
Thanks for the additional info.
Anonymous
  |     |   Comment #3
Bank guy.

On the rate table, only deposits from $100,000 make 4.91 not $10,000.
Anonymous
  |     |   Comment #4
Poster above needs to re-read the second sentence of Banking Guy's writeup . . . . . carefully.

The financial institution, product, and APY (Annual Percentage Yield) data displayed on this website is gathered from various sources and may not reflect all of the offers available in your region. Although we strive to provide the most accurate data possible, we cannot guarantee its accuracy. The content displayed is for general information purposes only; always verify account details and availability with the financial institution before opening an account. Contact [email protected] to report inaccurate info or to request offers be included in this website. We are not affiliated with the financial institutions included in this website.