Limelight Bank Nationally Available 12-Month CD Is Almost A Rate-Leader
Following a recent 25 bps rate increase, the Limelight Bank 12-month CD currently earns 5.50% APY. Limelight Bank (an online division of Utah-based Capital Community Bank) has joined five other banks and credit unions offering 5.50% APY on nationally available 1-year CDs. The minimum opening deposit is $1k, with a balance cap of $500k.
It’s been nearly six years since Limelight Bank opened its virtual doors and, for the most part, its limited product line (four CDs) has produced a series of fairly unimpressive rates. While most of the competitive nationally available one-year CDs have seen dramatic rate hikes in the past year, the Limelight Bank approach has been “slow but steady” increases: in the past 18 months, its 12-month CD has gained 495 bps in series of 19 rate increases.
According to CSR, a partial withdrawal or an early closure is allowed only if the Bank agrees to do so. She then quoted the Early Withdrawal Penalty from the Truth-in-Savings document for me:
If we consent to a request for a withdrawal that is otherwise not permitted you may have to pay a penalty. The penalty will be an amount equal to 90 days interest on the amount withdrawn.
Availability and Account Opening
Headquartered in Provo, Utah, Limelight Bank is an online division of Capital Community Bank, and offers its services and product line to all U.S. citizens and resident aliens, 18 years or older, who have a valid Social Security number.
Opening a CD must be done online. CDs can only be opened by individual consumers. While businesses, organizations, or trusts cannot open a CD, a trust may be named as a beneficiary.
Funding and Other Details
The Limelight Bank website doesn’t provide a great deal of details about its CDs, the FAQs are limited, and viewing the account disclosure requires going through the online application process. The following information was provided by CSR.
- Funding – ACH, wire, or check. (See the FAQs for detailed instructions.)
- Ownership – Individual or joint.
- Interest – Compounded/credited monthly and can be transferred to another bank account via ACH.
- Maturing Funds – Will be disbursed the way it was deposited: an ACH back to the original ACH funding account, a wire (fee-free) to the original wire account, or a cashier’s check.
- Grace Period – 10 calendar days before automatic renewal.
- Beneficiaries – Unlimited with percentages available. Social Security numbers are required.
- Credit check – ChexSystems
Bank Overview
As an online division of Capital Community Bank (CCBank), Limelight Bank operates under CCBank’s FDIC Certificate and shares its financial history. Deposits held under Limelight Bank and CCBank are not separately insured, but are combined to determine FDIC-insured limit.
Limelight Bank/CCBank has an overall health grade of "A+" at DepositAccounts.com, with a Texas Ratio of 3.53% (excellent), based on March 31, 2023 data. In the past year, the Bank has increased its total non-brokered deposits by $111.13 million, an excellent annual growth rate of 30.33%. Please refer to our financial overview of Limelight Bank/CCBank (FDIC Certificate #33823) for more details.
Established in 1993 as the Orem Community Bank, CCBank is currently Utah’s 28th largest bank, with assets in excess of $715 million and more than $559 million of deposits.
One of the newer internet banks, Limelight Bank opened its virtual doors in October 2017. Limelight Bank joins other new internet banks in positioning itself as an eco-friendly alternative to traditional banking.
Offering competitive rates with an environmental conscience, Limelight Bank was formed
to put the focus on you – our valued customers. Folks all around the country can feel good about banking online with us, as a portion of deposited funds will go towards solar energy initiatives.
How the 12-Month CD Compares
When compared to similar length-of-term CDs tracked by DepositAccounts.com which are available nationwide and have minimum deposit requirements of $10k or less, two banks have higher rates than currently offered on the Limelight Bank 12-month CD. The following table compares the 12-month CD to the two highest-rate CDs from other banks and the two highest-rate CDs from credit unions.
The above information and rates are accurate as of 8/12/2023.
To look for the best CD rates, both nationwide and state specific, please refer to our CD Rates Table page.
