Spokane City Credit Union Offers Top-Rate 36-Month CD With Add-On

Deal Summary: 36-month CD, 2.02% APY, $1k min/$100k max deposit per household, unlimited additional deposits.

Washington-based Spokane City Credit Union’s (SCCU) 36-month CD is currently earning 2.02% APY. The minimum opening deposit is $1k, with a $100k maximum deposit allowed per household. While the $100k maximum deposit puts the CD at a disadvantage, the ability to make unlimited additional deposits ($500 minimum) increases the CD’s competitiveness. SCCU also offers a “one-time option to increase the rate during the term to an equivalent term share certificate” any time during the term.

The CD is also available as an IRA (Traditional, Roth, CESA), earning the same APY with the same minimum/maximum deposit limitations.

As stated in the Truth-in-Savings disclosure, the Early Withdrawal Penalty reads as follows:

For all accounts, the amount of the withdrawal penalty will be a loss of all accrued dividends on the amount withdrawn; however, the penalty will never be less than seven (7) days dividends and will never exceed 90 days' dividends.

Availability

Headquartered in Spokane, Washington, Spokane City Credit Union’s field of membership (FOM) is residency-based, with individuals who live, work, worship, or attend school anywhere in Washington state eligible to join. The residents of the Idaho counties of Bonner, Benewah, or Kootenai also qualify for membership.

UPDATE #2: 6/29/2020 – I spoke with SCCU’s Member Services and was told that all residents of Washington State are eligible to join, BUT only the residents of the counties listed on the online application are able to join online. Everyone else has to join through snail-mail. They won't open a membership over the phone, "because the signature cards must be signed." After a membership is approved, opening any type of account can be done online, using the SCCU's online banking platform. FYI - a hard pull is done when applying for a membership.

UPDATE #1: 6/29/2020 – There seems to be some confusion as to who is eligible to join SCCU. DA members have stated in the comments below that it appears not all Washington residents qualify for membership. SCCU’s website provides contradictory information. As stated on the About SCCU page,

In 1980, SCCU changed our charter to extend membership to anyone who lives, works, worships, or goes to school in the state of Washington.

The online application has a drop-down list of specific counties that are included in the FOM, with no mention of statewide eligibility. This is a portion of the Live Chat I did last week with an SCCU CSR:

Q: I have a question about who can join SCCU. Your website states all residents of Washington are eligible, but the online application lists 7 WA and 3 ID counties. What's the answer?

A: All residents of Washington may be members. We can only do certain loans in specific counties. We have recently added the 3 Idaho counties.

There may be other ways for Washington state residents to join that are not readily apparent on SCCU’s website. When I have more information, I will update this blog post.

Joining SCCU can be done online, or at the sole branch located on N. Monroe Street in Spokane when Spokane County moves into Phase 3.

As a condition of membership, you must pay a $20 nonrefundable membership fee.

Opening a CD can be done in-branch or online after a membership has been established. Funding a CD can be done by ACH or wire transfer, or by mailing a check. While SCCU participates in the CO-OP ATM network, it does not take part in the Shared Branch network.

Credit Union Overview

Spokane City Credit Union has an overall health grade of "B+" at DepositAccounts.com, with a Texas Ratio of 0.57% (excellent) based on December 31, 2019 data. In the past year, SCCU has increased its total non-brokered deposits by $3.7 million, an excellent annual growth rate of 9.86%. Please refer to our financial overview of Spokane City Credit Union (NCUA Charter # 68283) for more details.

Established in 1934 as the City Employees Credit Union of Spokane, Spokane City Credit Union’s original FOM was, not surprisingly, the employees of the City of Spokane. A few years later, employees of the Spokane Transit Authority were included in the FOM. SCCU was granted a community charter in 1980, expanding the FOM to include all Washington state residents. Although SCCU is a small credit union, donating 1% of their annual profits to three local organizations (Spokane Public Library Foundation, Spokane Parks Foundation, and Children’s Miracle Network Spokane Hospital) is an official policy.

How the CD Compares

When compared to 283 similar length-of-term CDs tracked by DepositAccounts.com, that require a similar minimum deposit and are available within the FOM, Spokane City Credit Union's 36-month CD APY* currently ranks first.

These rates are accurate as of 6/26/2020.

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

*We continue to work to keep our rates up-to-date, but there have been just too many rate cuts for us to process quickly. For the time being, please be aware that the rates listed at DepositAccounts.com may not reflect the latest rates published by the banks and credit unions.