FirstBank (FL/PR) Features 29-Month CD

POSTED ON SATURDAY, MARCH 4, 2017 BY Ken Tumin

Deal Summary: 29-month CD, 1.70% APY, $1k minimum deposit

Availability: Market area includes South Florida, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.

FirstBank is currently offering a competitive 29-month CD (1.70% APY). The minimum deposit is $1k, with no stated balance cap. The bank is also offering additional competitive CDs. These have terms of 15 months (1.25% APY), 48 months (2.00% APY), and 60-month (2.20% APY). Please refer to our FirstBank CD rate table for the full list of the bank's latest CD rates.

According to CSR, the Early Withdrawal Penalty for the 29-month CD is six months interest.

I would like to thank the DA reader who sent me the information about this competitive CD.

Availability

Headquartered in Santurce, Puerto Rico, FirstBank’s market area includes Puerto Rico, South Florida, and the Virgin Islands. The Bank's product line is available to U.S. citizens and resident aliens, 18 years or older, who have a valid Social Security number.

Opening a CD can be done online, but a valid State of Florida address is required for the online application.

CDs can also be opened at any of 12 Florida branches located in Coral Gables, Deerfield Beach, Doral, Hialeah, Margate, Miami (4), Pembroke Pines, Pinecrest, and Sunrise. FirstBank also has 46 Puerto Rico branches and nine branches in the Virgin Islands.

Bank Overview

FirstBank has an overall health grade of "B" at DepositAccounts.com, with a Texas ratio of 35.19% (average) based on September 30, 2016 data. FirstBank has an excellent capitalization level (17.95% APY), the result of holding $12.06 billion in assets with $2.16 billion in equity. Please refer to our financial overview of FirstBank (FDIC Certificate # 30387) for more details.

FirstBank was founded in 1949 as First Federal Savings Bank with an initial capital investment of $200k. In 1981, the Bank acquired Pan American Federal Savings and Loan Association of Puerto Rico, and soon afterward became a stock-holder owned savings bank. From 1994 to 2014, there were two name changes and the acquisitions of two Virgin Islands banks and UniBank in Florida. FirstBank currently has assets in excess of $12 billion.

How the CD Compares

When compared to the 223 similar length-of-term CDs tracked by DepositAccounts.com that require a similar minimum deposit and are available to residents of South Florida, FirstBank’s 29-month CD APY currently ranks first.

The above rates are accurate as of 3/4/2017.

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

Comments

Kirkland | Mar 5, 2017 | Comment #1

Be very careful to stay under the insured limits with this bank. Two years ago I had trouble getting my money out of a very large money market account with this bank. I wrote a very large check (over 200k) from my First Bank account to open a CD in my name in another bank and they bounced the check saying it did not match my signature. Eventually the manager of the First Bank Branch agreed to reimburse the fees charged by the other bank and acknowledged verbally that my signature appeared to match and it was written to me in my name but I lost interest on the money for almost a week by the time the money was sent to the other bank. Other family members also had trouble with this bank in years past as for money market accounts they don't pay you the interest earned after monthly statement date. So you have to time your withdrawal to close your account for the same day as their changing monthly statement date if you don't want to lose any interest. I will never put my money in this bank again. Buyer beware!