Empower Federal Credit Union (NY) 30-Month Share CD Rate Shoots Up
Following a 225 bps increase at the beginning of the month, the Empower Federal Credit Union (Empower) 30-month Share Certificate now offers rates of 5.30% APY ($100k) and 5.25% APY ($500). When I last wrote about Empower in 2019, all the Share Certificates had seven APY tiers (in increments of 5 bps), with deposit levels ranging from $500 to $100k. Empower has simplified the deposit tiers, with all Share Certificates now having two tiers: $500 and $100k.
Empower Share Certificates are also available as IRA Certificates (Traditional, Roth, CESA), earning the same tiered APYs with the same deposit levels.
If you join Empower for this 30-month Share Certificate, you might also want to open Empower's 3-month Share Certificate. Its rate has been 6.00% APY since May. Its short term may not make it worthwhile, but if you're already a member, it can be easy money.
| APY | MIN | MAX | INSTITUTION | PRODUCT | DETAILS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4.10*% | $500 | - | Empower Federal Credit Union | 3 Month Share Certificate-New Money |
Availability
Headquartered in Syracuse, New York, Empower Federal Credit Union’s field of membership (FOM) is community-based, with individuals who live, work, worship, or attend school in a variety of Central and Western New York State locales in eight different counties eligible for membership.
Counties – Montgomery and Oswego
Cities – Binghamton, Buffalo, Elmira (with some exceptions), Syracuse, and Utica
Towns – Cheektowaga, Geddes, and Union
Villages – Elmira Heights, Horseheads, Liverpool (portions), and New York Mills
Hamlet – Nedrow
Employees of more than 11,800 Member Companies in Syracuse, Central New York, and throughout the state are eligible to join.
Immediate family members (spouse, child, sibling, parent, grandparent, grandchild, stepparents, stepchildren, stepsiblings and adoptive relationships) or household members of current Empower members also qualify for membership.
Account Opening
Joining Empower and/or opening a Share Certificate can be done online or at any of 27 full-service New York branches located in Auburn, Baldwinsville, Binghamton (2), Canandaigua, Central Square, Cheektowaga, Chittenango, Cicero, East Syracuse, Elmira, Fayetteville, Fulton (2), Johnson City, Liverpool (2), Oswego, Palatine Bridge, Syracuse (6), Utica, and Vestal.
With a required minimum balance of only $1, this
account is Step 1 in establishing your membership.
Funding and Other Particulars
The following information is from a conversation with CSR.
- Funding – ACH, wire, internal transfer, shared branch transaction. CDs must be funded within 30 days of opening.
- Ownership – Individual, joint, or trust.
- CO-OP Shared Branch Participant – Yes.
- Early Withdrawal Penalty – 180 days on amount withdrawn, with partial withdrawals allowed; any withdrawal made within 180 days of account opening will reduce the principal.
- Dividends – Compounded/credited monthly and cannot be withdrawn penalty free.
- Maturing Funds – Cashier’s check to address on file or internal transfer to an Empower Share Savings account.
- Beneficiaries – Unlimited, with equal shares; Social Security numbers are required.
- Grace Period – 10 calendar days before automatic renewal.
- Credit Check – Soft pull utilizing Equifax.
Credit Union Overview
Empower Federal Credit Union has an overall health grade of "B+" at DepositAccounts.com, with a Texas Ratio of 5.60% (excellent) based on June 30, 2023 data. In the past year, Empower has increased its total non-brokered deposits by $186.66 million, an excellent annual growth rate of 7.06%. Please refer to our financial overview of Empower Federal Credit Union (NCUA Charter # 3025) for more details.
When I see an atypical credit union name, I usually wonder about its etymology. While the “Empower” brand could be construed to convey strength or leadership, it’s simply derived from the 2007 merger of Empire Federal Credit Union and Power Federal Credit Union. Empire FCU and Power FCU brought a combined 148 years of operation to the newly christened Empower FCU. Five other mergers occurred between 2008 and 2016, establishing Empower’s dominance in Central New York State. Currently the tenth largest credit union headquartered in New York, Empower has more than 255,000 members and assets in excess of $3.2 billion.
How the 30-Month Share Certificate Compares
When compared to similar length-of-term CDs tracked by DepositAccounts.com which are available nationwide, have fixed rates, and have minimum deposit requirements of $100k or less, one bank has a higher rate than currently offered on the Empower Federal Credit Union Share Certificate. The following table compares the 30-month Share Certificate to the two highest-rate CDs from other credit unions and the two highest-rate CDs from banks.
The above information and rates are accurate as of 12/14/2023.
To look for the best CD rates, both nationwide and state specific, please refer to our CD Rates Table page.
Bauer has them at five stars (highest rating) as of end of Q3 2023. Ken has not as yet published his Q3 rating. I'll be watching for that one.
Thing is, Weiss Research has downgraded Empower to "B-" from a very high rating of "A-" only one year ago. Weiss is saying Empower liquidity is quite poor. Nevertheless, Empower is among the highest rated credit unions (at Weiss) in their market region. And you have to remember this is New York State, not exactly a growth situation with many people leaving to enjoy greener pastures elsewhere.
All of the above blah, blah, blah aside, I'm grateful to Ken for making us aware of this fine deal!
There are negatives:
You have to open this CD in person at an Empower branch. And even if you are an existing member, they will run ChexSystems on you.
Good luck to all. I might take another bite of this apple if the deal remains active next week when I will have more investable funds . . . . . but I doubt it will still be available in a week. The rate is too high to last that long.