National Cooperative Bank is headquartered in Hillsboro and is the 13th largest bank in the state of Ohio. It is also the 370th largest bank in the nation. It was established in 1988 and as of December of 2021, it had grown to 356 employees at 1 location. National Cooperative Bank's money market rates are 14% higher than the national average, and it has an A health rating.
My local bank
I used to use this bank, before switching to an online one. I very much enjoyed it while I did have it. They were always very helpful, and the website was easy to use without issues. They did have some fees, but they were much lower than other bigger banks you might use. I moved further away, so I stopped using them, since they aren't in too many locations. If you lost a card, they would also replace it very quickly, but if you wanted checks, you had to pay a good big of money.
Is This Really A Bank?
Based on MMA interest rates, I opened an online "Impact" MMA, which was funded by ACH as part of the application process.
Thereafter, I opened an online banking account and was stunned to find no facility for making transactions/transfers with other financial institutions. I called today and customer service confirmed that they do not offer ACH !!!
I asked how I could make additional deposits and the answer was:
1. send a check
2. wire funds (their fee disclosure schedule indicates this would cost $25 per
3. push (or pull) from another financial institution.
The latter is always an alternative to consider, but I could not find NBC's routing number on their website and had to ask.
Everything considered, this is really not a customer friendly place for one's savings. Their limited banking features are not disclosed. No wonder they have to offer a higher rate.
I must add that the online application process worked smoothly. Before starting the application, they indicate information one should have ready (e.g., SS#, DL#) However, they do not mention that at the end of the application one needs to attach copies of the Drivers License and one utility bill. If one does not already have copies of these in electronically transferable form, this is a bad time to find that you have go scan or download this information!
ACH update 2021: According to an email I received from NCB, they now offer ACH transfer capability thru online banking. I immediately proceeded to establish a link to my primary bank. The set up was smooth and quick with the usual test deposit validation routine, although there was a 2 factor authentication process through email in order to get started (seems like a reasonable step for a newly initiated feature). They do not mention in their confirming email that you have to go into "preferences" to find the test deposit reporting screen. Now the bad news: The daily limit is $5000 and a MONTHLY limit of $10,000. I called customer service to learn they DO NOT grant exceptions to these limits. They admitted that this is a new service and they "might" raise the limits after more experience. I told them this new ACH capability is more of an irritant than a service with these limits. Looks like they purchased some pretty good software as there are drop down menus that contain transfer timelines, these limits, etc.
Very Difficult To Access Your Funds
Had an account here for a year, tried to transfer funds out and, even though it's not mentioned in any of the documents, they have a $10k per month transfer limit. Tried to close the account and sent the money back to the account I funded it with - nope, can't do that. Ended up only being able to get a cashier's check sent snail mail (or FedEx for a fee) to withdraw my funds. And even that took multiple phone calls and forms filled out and returned.
If you're local, maybe ok, if not, I'd stay away.
Data as of Q4 2021
Learn why bank health mattersHealth Grade Components
| Overall | |
|---|---|
| FDIC Certificate # | 32612 |
| Year Established | 1988 |
| Employees | 356 |
| Primary Regulator | OCC |
| Profit Margin | |
|---|---|
| Return on Assets - YTD | 1.76% |
| Return on Equity - YTD | 15.23% |
| Annual Interest Income | $112.2MM |
| Assets and Liabilities | ||
|---|---|---|
| Assets | Q4 2021vs Q4 2020 | $3.17B$3.03B |
| Loans | Q4 2021vs Q4 2020 | $2.23B$2.14B |
| Deposits | Q4 2021vs Q4 2020 | $2.69B$2.59B |
| Equity Capital | Q4 2021vs Q4 2020 | $371.5MM$332.3MM |
| Loan Loss Allowance | Q4 2021vs Q4 2020 | $22.6MM$24.3MM |
| Unbacked Noncurrent Loans | Q4 2021vs Q4 2020 | $12.8MM$7.1MM |
| Real Estate Owned | Q4 2021vs Q4 2020 | $172.00K$105.00K |