Tennessee Valley Fed Credit Union Debuts Rate-Leading 10-Month CD Special

Early Withdrawal Penalty

As stated on the CD page, the Early Withdrawal Penalty (EWP) reads as follows:

Unless stated otherwise, owners of accounts with a stated term of one year or less may receive a penalty for withdrawals before maturity. The penalty we may impose is the greater of seven days dividends on the amount withdrawn, or all dividends that have been earned not to exceed 90 days, or $25.00. The penalty may be calculated at the rate paid on the deposit at the time of the withdrawal. The penalty will, if necessary, be taken from the principal amount of the deposit.

Availability

Headquartered in Chattanooga, Tennessee Valley Credit Union’s field of membership (FOM) is community-based, with individuals who live, work, worship, volunteer, or attend school in any of ten Southeast Tennessee counties or seven Northwest Georgia counties eligible for membership.

Tennessee counties: Bledsoe, Bradley, Grundy, Hamilton, Marion, McMinn, Meigs, Polk, Rhea, and Sequatchie.

Georgia counties: Catoosa, Chattooga, Dade, Gordon, Murray, Walker, and Whitfield.

Immediate family and household members of a current TVFCU member also qualify for membership. Immediate family is defined as spouse, children, parents, siblings, grandparents, and grandchildren, including step- and adoptive relationships.

Account Opening

Joining TVFCU can be done online or at any of 19 Tennessee branches located in Athens, Chattanooga (8), Cleveland (2), Dayton, Etowah, Hixson, Kimball, Ooltewah (2), Red Bank, and Soddy Daisy. There are also five Georgia branches located in Chickamauga, Fort Oglethorpe, La Fayette, and Ringgold (2).

It’s easy to become a Tennessee Valley Federal Credit Union member! All you have to do is open a share account. [No minimum deposit requirement.]

Existing TVFCU members can open a CD by logging in to “tvfcuONLINE” and clicking on “Add an Account.”

Although there is an “Open Now” button on the TVFCU CD page that leads to the online Membership Application, CDs are not listed on the application. According to CSR, those joining TVFCU must have their membership application approved before opening a CD either in-branch or through the tvfcuONLINE banking platform.

Funding and Other Details

The following information is from the TVFCU Membership Agreement disclosure and a conversation with CSR.

Funding – Funds must be on deposit in a TVFCU Share Savings account when opening a CD. ACH, wire ($10 fee), check, or internal transfer can be used to deposit funds.
CO-OP Shared Branch Participant – No.
Ownership – Individual, joint, or trust.
Dividends – Compounded quarterly/credited at maturity.
Maturing Funds – Cashier’s check to address on file or internal transfer to TVFCU Share Savings.
Beneficiaries – Up to 6 with equal shares; Social Security numbers are preferred but not required.
Grace Period – 10 business days before automatic renewal “at the 12 month rate at time.”
Credit Check – Soft pull through either Experion or Equifax.

Credit Union Overview

Tennessee Valley Federal Credit Union has an overall health grade of "A" at DepositAccounts.com, with a Texas Ratio of 2.45% (excellent) based on September 30, 2023 data. In the past year, TVFCU’s total non-brokered deposits decreased by -$42.76 million, an average annual growth rate of -1.97%. Please refer to our financial overview of Tennessee Valley Federal Credit Union (NCUA Charter # 1520) for more details.

Tennessee Valley Federal Credit Union is currently the fifth largest credit union headquartered in Tennessee, with more than 180,000 members and assets in excess of $2.5 billion. Established in 1936 as the Chattanooga TVA Employees Federal Credit Union, the founding members were “57 TVA employees [who] pooled their resources of $500 to charter the organization under the Farm Credit Administration.” As stated on the TVFCC History page,

After a number of years operating only for salaried TVA employees and their immediate family members the Credit Union expanded its field of membership to allow TVA trades and labor hourly employees to join. The credit union’s membership consisted solely of these TVA employees and their family members until 1983 when it began adding Select Employee Groups (SEGs) outside of TVA.

In 1994 we changed our name to Tennessee Valley Federal Credit Union to better reflect our growing membership base, which included over 1200 SEGs throughout the Chattanooga and North Georgia area. In 2004 we applied for and received a community charter to serve the Southeast Tennessee Economic Development District that includes the following 13 counties surrounding Chattanooga, TN.

In 2022, TVFCU received approval to serve four additional counties in North Georgia, expanding our community to 17 counties in Southeast Tennessee and North Georgia.

How the 10-Month CD Special Compares

When compared to similar length-of-term CDs tracked by DepositAccounts.com that are available within the FOM and have minimum deposit requirements of $10k or less, no banks or credit unions have higher rates than currently offered on Tennessee Valley Federal Credit Union 10-Month CD Special. The following table compare the 10-Month CD Special to four highest-rate similar length-of-term CDs from other banks/credit unions within the market area.

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

The above information and rates are accurate as of 3/5/2024.