First Guaranty Bank is headquartered in Hammond and is the 5th largest bank in the state of Louisiana. It is also the 423rd largest bank in the nation. It was established in 1934 and as of December of 2020, it had grown to 429 employees at 36 locations. First Guaranty Bank has a B+ health rating.
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No Longer 3.75
5 yr fixed now 3% 2-22-19. Variable rate at 3.50 still good.
Review Banking At Guaranty An Of Their 3.75/60M
Figured I would write this as I went to Garland branch of First Guaranty as a branch visit it required to open to open even for subsequent established customers. Myself I don't break Cd's but wanted everyone to know since we have a few hecklers here crying about the EWP after freely entering into a contract so figured I would tell y'all on this special it is 2yrs that's right didn't matter to me lol.
Now onto the review drove to Garland where parking is limited as it is located in town square they were open to 5 not just drive thru. I was greeted upon entering the tellers all came an greeted Toby. I spoke with manager told her what I was there for. Then the fun started she took my driver license proceeded to killed a tree then 3 or 4 signatures a couple of initials handed her my check an I was on my way back up the 78 all in about 15min.
I do have a couple of their variable CD's which is tied to funds rate they give a base then add a bonus depending on term which were above the going tops % here and a floor that they cannot go under which is among the top here in Dallas. All in all good banking place for a CD
this bank was good for general banking needs.
This bank is a local bank that my family use. There are no fees and the people actually know you by name. I banked with them as long as I could but this bank didn't even offer a debit card. They still don't today almost a year later. It's just a basic bank account where you can cash checks or have them go direct deposit, or you write checks. there are no ATMs or debit cards. I would still be banking with them if I could have stood trying to survive without a debit card. That's about as small town as it gets.
PSA: Somewhat Antiquated And Inconvenient Policies
First off, I am not a customer, although I did make a good faith effort. I reside in Dallas, TX, and the banks locations are very limited and quite a distance from the city center. But in light of the prospect of depositing a six figure slug of money in a competitive longer term CD I decided it was worth a visit. Having shown up at a local branch at 4:12p I found out the 5pm close that Google provided me only applied to the drive up window. The lobby closed at 4p. I tried to convince the employees (at least 3 of them) that it would be worthwhile to figure out a workaround given my jumbo deposit. No dice...and no window service. So I returned from my 45 mile r/t wasted trip thinking I might give it another shot when I was visiting Louisiana the following week.
I visited the Shreveport, LA branch on a road trip (about 12 miles out of my way) checks in hand. The branch looked brand new and nice. As I was greeted I asked what I assumed would be questions that I already knew the answers to and were just a formality. One of the questions involved updating my address after account opening. I tend to move locally each year or so, so I wanted to confirm that I could update my mailing address via traditional channels such as phone, email or website. To my shock the person helping me stated in no uncertain terms that the only way to update an address is in a branch in person as they require a signature. Upon disclosing this, I thought there must be an available workaround, but this associate was certain there wasn't. The thought of having to visit an inconvenient branch during inconvenient hours each time I might move was a deal breaker.
Obviously I recognize this situation would only apply to a select few and not traditional local banking customers, but one might want to consider the consequences in opening up a long term CD where there is risk of a relocation during the term. And if that relocation is a long distance one you may have no reasonable options other than early withdrawal and the associated penalties.
Good Bank To Deal With
I just recently opened one of the 5 year cd's at this bank. Personnel were very courteous and knowledgeable about info needed and process to open the account and the rate was very good. The only thing I could complain about was you had to open the account in person and could not do this online. Other than that. everything very smooth!
BEWARE OF INSANE EARLY PENALTY!
I got excited about their 3.00% 5-year CD rate that I went in and deposited a significant sum.
Weeks later, several other banks started offering higher rates and I went in to see if I could withdraw.
NORMALLY, with many CD's you only lose the interest you've earned on your deposit, or at worst you suffer a month or two worth of penalties.
But with First Guaranty Bank, they have an insane TWO YEAR penalty on early withdrawal.
It's so huge I would lose basically 6% of my deposit just to withdraw. That's right, not just lose interest but actually lose 6% of my deposit. That high interest rate because high profits for them if you have an emergency and want to withdraw, they penalize you at 2 years worth of those high interest rates!
I almost think they set it up as a scam whereby they hope old people put in their money and then have to withdraw early and lose all their interest and pay parts of their deposit.
By comparison, my Capital One CD has only a 3 month penalty, and most of the banks we have CDs at only take the interest never more than that, if you withdraw early.
So I am literally stuck there for 5 years, and in one or two years it's likely interest rates will be as high as 4% or 4.5.
Basically I made a big mistake and have to treat that money as if it was gone for the next 5 years. I made sure to tell them NOT to auto-renew, be sure to do that if you ever open here because then you'll NEVER see your money (unless they
I actually think their fees may be a violation of banking law and consumer protection, but do not have the time right now to take them to small claims over it and don't want to risk losing 6% of my deposit with no guarantee I'd get the fees back in small claims.
Data as of Q4 2020
Learn why bank health mattersHealth Grade Components
| Overall | |
|---|---|
| FDIC Certificate # | 14028 |
| Year Established | 1934 |
| Employees | 429 |
| Primary Regulator | FDIC |
| Profit Margin | |
|---|---|
| Return on Assets - YTD | 0.97% |
| Return on Equity - YTD | 9.9% |
| Annual Interest Income | $100.5MM |
| Assets and Liabilities | ||
|---|---|---|
| Assets | Q4 2020vs Q4 2019 | $2.47B$2.11B |
| Loans | Q4 2020vs Q4 2019 | $1.82B$1.51B |
| Deposits | Q4 2020vs Q4 2019 | $2.17B$1.85B |
| Equity Capital | Q4 2020vs Q4 2019 | $228.9MM$224.7MM |
| Loan Loss Allowance | Q4 2020vs Q4 2019 | $24.5MM$10.9MM |
| Unbacked Noncurrent Loans | Q4 2020vs Q4 2019 | $28.2MM$13.2MM |
| Real Estate Owned | Q4 2020vs Q4 2019 | $2.2MM$4.9MM |
