Quontic Bank 1-Year and 2-Year CDs Are New Rate Leaders

New York-based Quontic Bank (Quontic) increased the rates on all its CDs this week. While 5-year CD saw the largest increase (56 bps), the 1-year CD (2.01% APY) and 2-year CD (2.51% APY) offer the most competitive rates and have the highest APYs (in their respective term-lengths) offered by online banks. Any Quontic CD can be opened with a $500 minimum deposit, with no stated balance cap.

Much of the following information was taken from the Quontic FAQs, which are listed at the bottom of the Certificates of Deposit page.

Interest is compounded daily and credited monthly, with dividends either reinvested or transferred to an external account through an ACH transfer.

Partial withdrawals are not allowed, only an early redemption. The Early Withdrawal Penalty reads (in part) as follows.

For time deposits up to 12 months, the penalty will be equal to the interest for the full length of the stated term.

For time deposits 12 months to under 24 months, the penalty equals one year interest.

For time deposits 24 months and over, the penalty equals two years interest.

If the accrued interest exceeds the penalty amount, the excess accrued interest over the penalty amount will be paid to you. If the accrued interest is less than the penalty amount, a reduction of the principal balance may result.

Funding a CD can be done from an external account through ACH or Plaid’s technology; funds from an existing Quontic Bank account can also be used to open a CD. If a CD is not funded within 30 days of opening, the account may be closed. According to CSR, there is no rate lock: the rate in effect when the funding is received will be APY applied to the CD.

Maturing funds will be distributed via cashier’s check or can be transferred to another Quontic Bank account (checking/savings). There is a 10-day grace period (beginning the days after the CD matures) before the CD will automatically renew.

Up to five beneficiaries can be named and Social Security numbers are required. Percentages can be assigned, if so desired.

CDs can be opened for a trust, but a certificated copy of the entire trust document is required. Government-issued IDs (valid driver’s license or passport) are required for all trustees. Funding a CD for a trust can only be done by check or wire transfer.

High Interest Checking

Quontic Bank’s rewards checking account, High Interest Checking, saw a small rate increase (9 bps) this week, nudging the APY to 1.10%.

The High Interest Checking rate tiers were fairly convoluted history, but that has recently changed:

Earn 1.10% APY on all balance tiers when you make at least 10 qualifying debit card
point of sale transactions of $10 or more per statement cycle. Failure to make qualifying transactions will result in 0.01% interest and APY. Minimum opening deposit of $100.

The previous “up to $1 million” qualifying balance cap has been removed. According to the fine print on the High Interest Checking landing page,

1.10% annual percentage yield (APY) applies to all balance tiers, which are
identified as $0–$150,000, $150,000.01–$1,000,000 and balances over $1,000,000.

High Yield Savings

While High Yield Savings 1.01% APY poses no threat to the current savings account top rate, 1.26% APY, offered on the TAB Bank High Yield Savings, it is still a competitive rate, having the sixth highest savings account rate offered by online banks.

The fee-free High Yield Savings can be opened with a minimum $100 deposit. There is a $10 excess transaction fee for each transaction/withdrawal beyond the six allowed per month.

DA reader, FLAbanker, brought up an important issue in a recent Review post:

Quontic's ACH limits are $2000 inbound or outbound. I was told that if I wanted
to move funds into my Quontic account, I should initiate it through another bank.

Availability

Headquartered in New York City, Quontic Bank offers its product line online to all U.S. citizens/residents aliens, 18 years or older, who have a valid Social Security number.

Quontic operates as a national, digital bank which allows us to pass on the overheard cost savings from operating an expensive network of branches on to our customers in the form of lower fees, better rates or higher rewards.

Opening any type of Quontic account, including CDs, must be done online, supposedly in “3 minutes or less.”

Quontic’s five branch locations (Queens, Brooklyn, Long Island, Miami, and Indianapolis) offer only loan origination and support services.

Bank Overview

Quontic Bank has an overall health grade of "C+" at DepositAccounts.com, with a Texas Ratio of 8.95% (excellent), based on March 31, 2022 data. In the past year, the Bank has increased its total non-brokered deposits by $95.54 million, an excellent annual growth rate of 19.01%. Please refer to our financial overview of Quontic Bank (FDIC Certificate # 57807) for more details.

Quontic Bank's low overall health grade is primarily the result of its highly negative Return on Equity ratio.(-37.02%).

Quontic Bank is currently the 58^th largest bank headquartered in New York state, with assets in excess of $872 million. In late 2009, Steven Schnall, a New York real estate developer, bought the Long Island-based Golden First Bank, which was in financial trouble after only four years of being established. Schnall recapitalized the bank, brought in a new management team, and rebranded the institution as Quontic Bank.

According to a May 12, 2022 press release,

Ernst & Young LLP (EY US) announces that the Founder CEO of Quontic Bank was named an Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2022 New York Award finalist. Entrepreneur Of The Year is one of the preeminent competitive business awards for entrepreneurs and leaders of high-growth companies who think big to succeed.

Mr. Schnall was selected by a panel of independent judges according to the following criteria – entrepreneurial spirit, purpose, growth and impact – among other core contributions and attributes.

How the 1-Year CD Compares

When compared to similar length-of-term CDs tracked by DepositAccounts.com that are available nationally and have minimum deposit requirements of $10k or less, only one credit union has a higher rate than currently offered on the Quontic Bank 1-year CD. The following tables compares the 1-year CD to the two highest-rate CDs from other credit unions and the two highest-rate CDs from banks.

How the 2-Year CD Compares

When compared to similar length-of-term CDs tracked by DepositAccounts.com that are available nationally and have minimum deposit requirements of $10k or less, two credit unions have higher rates than currently offered on the Quontic Bank 2-year CD. The following tables compares the 2-year CD 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 6/7/2022.

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