Seattle Bank offers the service and flexibility of a small bank and product selection and convenience of a large nationwide lender. Specializing in tailored banking solutions, they can meet virtually all individual and business banking needs and, through affiliated companies, provide a broad range of financial services such as personal insurance and residential loans. They are a very active and experienced residential construction and commercial construction lender.
Easy To Open A CD, Not So Easy To Get Your Money Out
Seattle Bank permits funding of CDs by ACH from an external account. But not so at maturity.
The only way you can get your funds back at maturity is cashiers check or wire transfers, they tell me. Their fee schedule indicates this will cost $5 (and snail mail delay) or $25, respectively.
Of course, the conventional work-around for online banks that do this is to open a Money Market account and use that to receive, then transfer CD maturity proceeds using online banking. Unfortunately, Seattle bank has brick and mortar interest rates on their MMF. They aren't really a (full service) internet bank; they are a brick and mortar operation with selected promotional rates online.
I should note that their customer service by email was responsive. I had an answer to my early morning pre-opening questions within 15 minutes of their stated opening banking hours. Unfortunately, those questions should have included how to get my money back!
The on-line account opening experience was efficient (and less complicated than most others) and they don't bother with test deposits. Once they approve your CD application, they just initiate the ACH transfer. I completed my CD application on a Thursday morning and the CD was opened and funded (on the next) Monday.
UPDATE: I have now redeemed several CDs at maturity and they did not charge a fee for the cashiers check.
Slow To Process Funding ACH
In addition to hurdles to getting ones money out of Seattle Bank as discussed in other reviews here, now they have delays in processing incoming ACH transfers to fund new CDs.
Last Thursday, I applied for a new CD. They processed the funding ACH on Friday and the funding bank shows the money withdrawn on Monday. All well and good.
However, the new CD was not opened until Thursday, costing me several days of interest. Such was not the case when I opened a CD with them last year as the CD was opened the same day funds were withdrawn.
This time I called on Wed morning to inquire why the CD was not opened. I was told the funds take 3-5 business days FROM THE DATE THEY ARE DEDUCTED at the funding bank to arrive at Seattle Bank, at which time the CD would be opened. The 3-5 day window is typically stated as the time to turn around an ACH transaction from initiation to completion, not for receipt of funds. Some how this outfit is not up to snuff on ACH capabilities.
Do Not Open CD's
Seattle Bank CLAIMS to be an online bank but they are not a well functioning online bank. They make short work at obtaining your funds but once they have your money they place one road block after another in front of you when you need your money back. I speak from experience as I previously held a number of large CDs with Seattle Bank---which I have closed one by one at maturity. They, for reasons unknown, manage to take money from the funding bank but cannot return it at maturity to that funding bank. The site has a so-called "identification" process but they cannot send you a CODE to gain access to your account! I am trying to get my funds returned from the last account I have or will ever have on deposit with Seattle Bank and once again, I'm having the same old problems---lucky for me this last account is for a small denomination.
Data as of Q1 2023
Learn why bank health mattersHealth Grade Components
| Overall | |
|---|---|
| FDIC Certificate # | 35139 |
| Year Established | 1999 |
| Employees | 70 |
| Primary Regulator | FDIC |
| Profit Margin | |
|---|---|
| Return on Assets - YTD | 1.48% |
| Return on Equity - YTD | 12.97% |
| Annual Interest Income | $14.7MM |
| Assets and Liabilities | ||
|---|---|---|
| Assets | Q1 2023vs Q1 2022 | $826.8MM$709.5MM |
| Loans | Q1 2023vs Q1 2022 | $666.3MM$621.8MM |
| Deposits | Q1 2023vs Q1 2022 | $675.8MM$549.2MM |
| Equity Capital | Q1 2023vs Q1 2022 | $88.2MM$89.2MM |
| Loan Loss Allowance | Q1 2023vs Q1 2022 | $20.2MM$9.2MM |
| Unbacked Noncurrent Loans | Q1 2023vs Q1 2022 | $5.7MM$2.6MM |
| Real Estate Owned | Q1 2023vs Q1 2022 | $7.4MM$6.8MM |