Southland Credit Union (CA) Brings Back Rate-Leading 30-Month CD Special

Early Withdrawal Penalty

As stated in the Southland FAQs, the Early Withdrawal Penalty reads as follows:

If the Certificate term is longer than a year, the penalty is forfeiture of 180 days worth of dividends.

According to CSR, partial withdrawals are permitted, but if a withdrawal reduces the balance to less than $2.5k, the CD Special will be closed. Any withdrawal made within 180 days of opening will reduce the principal.

Availability

Headquartered in Los Alamitos, California, Southland Credit Union’s field of membership (FOM) is community-based, with individuals who live, work, worship, or attend school in Orange County or Los Angeles County eligible to join.

Individuals who are “associated” with nearly 650 businesses, organizations, associations, and government agencies also qualify for membership.

Family members of a current Southland member are also welcome to apply.

Account Opening

Joining Southland can be done online, or at any of eight Southern California branches located in Carson, Downey, Los Alamitos, Los Angeles, Long Beach (2), and Santa Monica.

A Primary Share Savings account is a requirement for membership with Southland and can be opened with as little as $25.

The online application lists almost every Southland product, but the 30-month CD Special is missing. When I informed CSR about the AWOL CD Special, she told me the 30-month CD Special was added to the product line earlier this week and “apparently hadn’t been added to the online application, yet.” She suggested a work-around: when opening a membership, fund the Primary Share Savings account with the deposit for the 30-month CD Special, then call Southland (800.426.1917) and open the CD Special over the phone.

According to the Open New Account page, existing Southland members can,

Open additional accounts and apply for a loan by logging in to Digital Banking. Click the orange LOGIN button above or head to the Southland CU mobile app. Once you're logged in, head to the Quick Apply widget to get started.

As the 30-month CD Special is not listed on the online application (yet), there is no guarantee it’s available in Digital Banking (yet).

Southland participates in the CO-OP Shared Branch and ATM networks.

Banking with Southland Credit Union offers you local branches and ATMs in Los Angeles County and Orange County combined with the convenience of the nationwide CO-OP Network.

Funding and Other Details

The following is from a conversation with CSR.

Funding – ACH, wire ($10 fee), cashier’s check, shared branch transaction.
CO-OP Shared Branch Participant – Yes.
Ownership – Individual, joint, trust.
Dividends – Compounded/credited monthly; can be automatically transferred to a Southland checking account.
Maturing Funds – Internal transfer to a Southland checking/savings account.
Beneficiaries – Unlimited, percentages can be assigned, Social Security numbers are required for all beneficiaries.
Grace Period – 10 calendar days before automatic renewal.
Credit Check – Hard pull when joining, ChexSystems utilized.

Credit Union Overview

Southland Credit Union has an overall health grade of "B" at DepositAccounts.com, with a Texas Ratio of 9.22% (excellent) based on March 31, 2023 data. In the past year, Southland has increased its total non-brokered deposits by $28.65 million, an excellent annual growth rate of 3.13%. (The below average capitalization level and a decreasing Texas Ratio contributed to the “B” overall health grade.) Please refer to our financial overview of Southland Credit Union (NCUA Charter # 68415) for more details.

Founded in 1936, Southland Credit Union originally served the employees of the Los Angeles County Flood Control District. In its 87-year history, Southland has had three charter changes, four name changes, 12 credit union mergers, and one bank acquisition. With so many changes, it’s no surprise Southland also developed a new logo and tagline. According to a September 2018 CU Times article,

Rebranding efforts are common in the credit union world these days, but peek behind the curtain at cooperatives such as Los Alamitos, Calif.-based Southland Credit Union, which unveiled a brand-new logo and tagline last week.

First, it scrapped its palm-trees-and-mountain silhouette logo, replacing it with one featuring a single palm tree against a blue and orange background. Second, it rolled out a new tagline — “Your future made easy.” It was the credit union’s first rebranding effort in 15 years, and the credit union said it plans to have the new logo and tagline on all of its communications starting Oct. 1.

Southland is currently the 58^th largest credit union headquartered in California, with more than 63,400 members and assets in excess of $1.1 billion.

How the 30-Month CD Special Compares

When compared to similar length-of-term CDs tracked by DepositAccounts.com that are available nationwide and have minimum deposit requirements of $10k or less, no banks or credit unions have higher rates than currently offered on the Southland Credit Union 30-Month CD Special. The following table compares the 30-Month CD Special 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 9/1/2023.

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