Gateway First Bank 13-Month Promo CD Available In 38 States

It’s been a year since Oklahoma-based Gateway First Bank (Gateway First) began offering a series of CDs on a limited nationwide basis (38 states and the District of Columbia). While none of Gateway First’s regular term CDs currently have competitive rates, there are two Promo Share Certificates that have good rates: 13-month (0.85% APY, $25k) and 7-month (0.65% APY, $25k). Both Promo Share Certificates have tiered APYs, with deposits of $500-$25k earning APYs a uniform 10 bps lower. While there is no stated deposit cap, the FAQs state there is a “$500k maximum limit when funding by ACH online.”

Unfortunately, Gateway First has not improved its website since my March 2020 blog post. There still is no Truth-in-Savings disclosure on the website and the FAQs continue not to be very helpful. For example,

What if I want to withdraw my CD early, are there penalties?

There may be penalties associated with early withdrawals from your CD account.

I spoke with one of Gateway First’s “Ambassador” who confirmed the following:

• Early withdrawal penalty is 90 days of interest, with partial withdrawals allowed.
• Unlimited beneficiaries can be named, and while the Bank “would like” to have a Social Security number for each beneficiary, it is not required.
• Funding can be done by ACH or wire.
• Maturing funds can be distributed by check, ACH, or wire transfer, or deposited in another Gateway First account.
• There is a ten day grace period before a Promo Share Certificate renews as a closest term regular CD.

Availability

Headquartered in Jenks, Oklahoma, Gateway First Bank has been offering its CDs through an online application for about a year. While consumer deposit accounts are not offered on a nationwide basis, residents of 38 states and the District of Columbia are eligible to apply.

The excluded states are Alaska, California, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

Opening a Promo Share Certificate can be done in-branch at any of six Oklahoma branches, but according to the Bank’s website,

We have temporarily closed our lobbies and will be serving customers at the drive-thru window effective Monday, November 23, 2020. Locations affected include Cherokee, Helena, Nash, Wakita, and Tonkawa. As the Tulsa location does not have a drive-thru, the lobby will remain open at this time.

We understand that there may be circumstances where you need to meet with a banker or access services such as your Safe Deposit Box. We are happy to meet by appointment and kindly request you wear a mask for both your and our teams’ safety.

Bank Overview

Gateway First Bank has an overall health grade of "A+" at DepositAccounts.com, with a Texas Ratio of 5.40% (excellent), based on December 31, 2020 data. In the past year, Gateway First Bank has increased its total non-brokered deposits by $301.83 million, an excellent annual growth rate of 54.23%. Please refer to our financial overview of Gateway First Bank (FDIC Certificate # 15118) for more details.

Gateway First Bank is currently Oklahoma’s ninth largest bank, with assets in excess of $1.9 billion. Established in May 2019, Gateway First Bank is the result of the merger of Gateway Mortgage Group with Farmers Exchange Bank, a nearly 100-year old bank. Funding more than $11 billion of mortgages, Gateway First Bank has 160 mortgage centers across the country. According to a January 2021 press release,

Gateway First Bank, one of the larger banks based in Oklahoma and one of the largest mortgage bank operations in the United States, ended 2020 with record-breaking residential mortgage production.

With an increased number of homeowners refinancing and taking advantage of lower interest rates, Gateway reported funding over $1 billion a month in residential mortgage loans in six different months of 2020. In October of 2020, Gateway set an all-time record for monthly volume by funding more than $1.1 billion in loans in one month. Overall, Gateway funded more than $11.3 billion in mortgage loans in 2020, surpassing the previous record year of $7.7 billion funded loans in 2019.

How the Promo Share Certificate Compares

When compared to 217 similar length-of-term CDs tracked by DepositAccounts.com that are available nationwide and require a minimum deposit of $25k or less, Gateway First Bank’s 13-month Promo Share Certificate top APY currently ranks first.

The above information and rates are accurate as of 3/13/2021.

To search for the best CD rates, both nationwide and state specific, please refer to our CD rates table page.