Competitive CD Rates in Southeast & Central Florida at FirstBank

POSTED ON TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2012 BY Ken Tumin

In this terrible interest rate environment, it's hard to find respectable CD rates, and that's especially the case for Florida. Thanks to a DA reader's email, I learned of one Florida bank that's offering a couple of competitive CD rates. It's FirstBank Florida, and it's offering a 1.25% APY 2-year CD and a 1.40% APY 3-year CD. Minimum deposit is $1,000. These CD rates are not listed on the bank's website. I had to call the bank on 11/05/2012 for these latest rates. The bank CSR didn't know how long these would last. I was told these rates have been available for a while, and rates typically are changed on Thursdays.

A branch visit is required for new customers to open an account. Most of the branches are located in Miami-Dade and Broward Counties. However, there's also an Orlando branch and a St. Cloud branch which are in Central Florida.

FirstBank Florida is the brand name of the Florida operation of FirstBank of Puerto Rico which has over 60 branches in Puerto Rico and in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

FirstBank of Puerto Rico has an overall health score at DepositAccounts.com of 3 stars (out of 5) with a Texas ratio of 60.80% (below average) based on June 2012 data. Please refer to our financial overview of FirstBank of Puerto Rico for more details. The bank has been a FDIC member since 1949 (FDIC Certificate # 30387).

How These CD Rates Compare

If you live in the northern part of Southeast Florida, you can get a little higher 3-year CD rate at Flagler Bank (1.45% APY).

For higher rates, you'll need to go online. The highest 3-year and 2-year CD rates that are nationally available are 1.61% APY and 1.36% APY at Pentagon Federal Credit Union (an all-access credit union).

For internet banks, CIT Bank continues to have the best 2-year CD deal. With a 1.25% APY, it's not the highest yield, but it offers a one-time add-on deposit option and a one-time rate bump-up option. Another good deal is a 1.50% APY 30-month CD at Salem Five Direct.

The above rates are accurate as of 11/06/2012.

Searching for Top CD Rates

To search for nationwide CD rates and CD rates in your state, please refer to the best CD rates section of DepositAccounts.com.