Patelco Credit Union Nationally Available 11-Month CD Is New Rate Leader

For a limited time, California-based Patelco Credit Union (Patelco) is offering an 11-month Certificate earning 3.50% APY. The minimum opening deposit is $250, with no stated balance cap. While no specific end-date is mentioned, the offer “is subject to end at any time without notice.”

As stated in Patelco’s Member Handbook (page 18), the Early Withdrawal Penalty reads as follows:

Early withdrawal penalties on certificates with terms up to 47 months will
equal the lesser of dividends earned on the Certificate or 90 days’ dividends.

I don’t have all the information (funding, beneficiaries, etc.) I usually include in a CD blog post, but I wanted to share the news of the latest rate-leading CD. I will be contacting Patelco this morning and will update the blog post as soon as I have more details.

UPDATE

The following information is from a conversation with CSR this morning.

• Funding: ACH, wire, internal transfer, or shared branch transfer
• Maturing Funds: There is a 10-day grace period before the 11-month Certificate automatically renews as a 12-month Certificate. Maturing funds can be distributed by check to the address on file, ACH, or transferred into a Patelco savings/checking account.
• Earned Dividends: Credited dividends can be withdrawn at any time.
• Beneficiaries: Unlimited beneficiaries can be designated, with percentages assigned. Social Security numbers are required for all name beneficiaries.
• Credit Check: Soft pull.

Availability

Prior to 2015, Patelco’s field of membership (FOM) included an easy membership requirement (EMR). Sometime in 2015, the FOM was restructured, using Northern California residency and employment to determine eligibility. At the beginning of 2020, Patelco Credit Union reinstated its EMR, making all legal U.S. residents with a valid Social Security number eligible to join.

Easy Membership Requirement: Joining the Financial Fitness Association (FFA) qualifies for membership. Patelco will pay the initial $8 membership fee for the first year. "After the first year, renewal of the FFA membership is your responsibility and is not required to maintain your Patelco membership.” Patelco’s new membership team (800.358.8228 x1212) can facilitate joining FFA.

Residency: Individuals who live, work, worship, or worship in the northern California counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, El Dorado, Marin, Merced, Napa, Placer, Sacramento, San Francisco, San Joaquin, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, Sonoma, Stanislau, or Yolo are eligible to join, as are those who live, work, worship, or worship California cities of Bakersfield, Eureka, McKinleyville, or Santa Cruz.

Employment: Employees and pensioner of any of more than 1,100 associations, trade groups, chambers of commerce, or federal government also qualifying for membership.

Education: Current students and alumni of the University of California Berkeley, San Francisco State University, or California State University East Bay are eligible to join..

Relationship: Family members or roommates of current Patelco members are also welcome to apply.

Complete details are listed on the Patelco Membership page.

Joining Patelco and/or opening an 11-month Certificate can be done online, or at any of 36 California branches located in Berkeley, Brentwood, Campbell, Castro Valley, Citrus Heights, Concord, Daly City, Danville, Dublin (2), Elk Grove, Fairfield, Folsom, Fremont, Hayward, Lafayette, Livermore, Milpitas, Novato, Oakland (2), Pleasanton, Redwood City, Rohnert Park, Roseville, Sacramento, San Bruno, San Francisco, (2) San Jose (2), San Leandro, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Rosa, Sunnyvale, and Walnut Creek. Appointments are available and can be scheduled online.

There's no fee to join and your membership includes a
savings account with $1 deposited to get you started.

Patelco participates in both the CO-OP Shared Branch network and ATM network.

Credit Union Overview

Patelco Credit Union has an overall health grade of "A" at DepositAccounts.com, with a Texas Ratio of 2.08% (excellent) based on June 30, 2022 data. In the past year, Patelco has increased its total non-brokered deposits by $149.88 million, an above average annual growth rate of 1.96%. Please refer to our financial overview of Patelco Credit Union (NCUA Certificate # 68579) for more details.

Patelco Credit Union was established in 1936 with only $500 in assets. The Credit Union’s name is derived from its original field of membership: employees of Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Company (now part of AT&T). Patelco Credit Union has grown to become California’s sixth largest credit union, with nearly 446,000 member and assets in excess of $8.8 billion.

How the 11-Month Certificate 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, no bank or credit union has a higher rate than currently offered on the Patelco 11-month Certificate. The following table compares the 11-month Certificate to the two highest-rate CDs from other credit unions and the two highest-rate CDs from banks.

The above information and rates are accurate as of 9/19/2022.

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