Texas Bay Credit Union 24-35 Month CD Rate Becomes Competitive
The 24-35 month CD offered by Texas Bay Credit Union (Texas Bay) has become competitive in the past few weeks, particularly when compared to other 3-year CDs. While CD rates have generally been cooling off in the past six weeks, the 24-35 month CD 5.12% APY has not changed since a 27 bps increase in April 2023. The minimum opening deposit is $50k, with no stated balance cap. The 24-35 month CD also offers a substantially lower rate (4.59% APY) for minimum deposits of $1k up to $50k.
The 24-35 month CD is also available as an IRA CD (Traditional, Roth, CESA, SEP), earning the same APYs with the same deposit requirements.
24-Month and 60-Month Callable CD Specials
In April 2023, I wrote about the Texas Bay 60-month Callable CD Special, which had a 5.38% APY; that rate is still in effect. In September, Texas Bay added a 24-month Callable CD Special earning 5.69% APY. The minimum opening deposit for either Callable CD is $50k, with no stated balance cap.
| APY | MIN | MAX | INSTITUTION | PRODUCT | DETAILS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4.18% | $50k | - | Texas Bay Credit Union | 24 Month Callable CD Special | |
| 3.87% | $50k | - | Texas Bay Credit Union | 60 Month Callable CD Special |
The fine print on the Consumer Deposit Rates page reads,
We may redeem this account, at our option, at any time, but not for the first 90 days. Minimum to open is $50,000. These accounts may be subject to redemption, or called, on a specified date or dates prior to the maturity date, at our sole discretion. If the account is called, you will be paid the outstanding principal amount and dividends accrued or accredited up to, but not including, the callable date. The time periods for which the account may be called will be specified in the Certificate Account Receipt or a supplement to this Disclosure Statement.*
*According to CSR, the first callable date is 90 days from the issue date and may be called every six months after that.
As DA reader, Striker, stated in a Forum post, it’s a “great rate for 90 days!”
Early Withdrawal Penalty
Making an early withdrawal is not necessarily guaranteed. Page 15 of Truth-in Savings disclosure states,
You may make withdrawals of principal from your account before maturity only if we agree at the time you request the withdrawal.
As stated in the Truth-in Savings disclosure (page 16), the Early Withdrawal Penalty reads as follows:
If your account has an original maturity of 13 to 47 months: The penalty we may impose will equal 180 days dividends on the amount withdrawn subject to penalty, whether earned or not.
If your account has an original maturity of 48 to 60 months: The penalty we may impose will equal 270 days dividends on the amount withdrawn subject to penalty, whether earned or not.
The following statement is important in respect to the $50k minimum deposit balance requirement.
Any withdrawal which, reduces the account balance below the minimum required balance to open the account shall be considered a withdrawal of the entire account balance, in which event, the penalty shall be computed as if the entire account balance had been withdrawn, the entire account balance shall be distributed to you, and your account will be closed.
Excess Share Insurance
To provide the “highest level of security available,” Texas Bay offers Excess Share Insurance.
Texas Bay is happy to offer our members in addition to the $250,000 coverage from the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund an additional $250,000 of savings protection to each qualifying account from Excess Share Insurance (ESI).
Availability
Headquartered in Houston, Texas Bay Credit Union’s field of membership (FOM) is community-based, with individuals who live, work, worship, attend school, or are based in the Texas counties of Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Liberty, Montgomery, or Waller eligible for membership.
Employees of more than 90 SEGs, including several large petrochemical companies, also qualify for membership.
Immediate family members (parent, spouse, sibling, child) of a current Texas Bay member are welcome to apply.
Account Opening
Joining Texas Bay and/or opening a 24-35 month CD can be done online, by phone (713.489.5673), or at any of the nine full-service Texas branches, located in Cypress, Houston (3), Katy, League City, Pasadena, Pearland, or Richmond. Appointments are available and can be scheduled online.
With only a $1 deposit you can become a member of Texas Bay.
Funding and Other Details
The following information is from a conversation with CSR.
- Funding – ACH, wire, check, shared branch transaction.
- Ownership – Individual or joint.
- CO-OP Shared Branch Participant – Yes.
- Dividends – Compounded/credited monthly and can be transferred to a Texas Bay savings account.
- Maturing Funds – Internal transfer to a Texas Bay savings account.
- Beneficiaries – Unlimited with equal shares, Social Security numbers required for all beneficiaries.
- Grace Period – 10 calendar days.
- Credit Check – Soft pull.
Credit Union Overview
Texas Bay Credit Union has an overall health grade of "B+" at DepositAccounts.com, with a Texas Ratio of 11.33% (above average), based on September 30, 2023 data. In the past year, Texas Bay has increased its total non-brokered deposits by $53.96 million, an excellent annual growth rate of 11.44%. Please refer to our financial overview of Texas Bay Credit Union (NCUA Charter #67465) for more details.
Established in 1936, Texas Bay Credit Union was originally known as the Houston Sinclair Refinery Employee’s Federal Credit Union. The credit union’s operations were run out of an office inside the Sinclair refinery plant. For the founding charter members,
a membership share was set at $5.00, the maximum deposit limit was $200, the maximum amount for a secured loan was $200 and the maximum amount for an unsecured loan was $50. The dividend rate was set at 6 percent, to be paid annually.
As the FOM expanded and the membership rolls grew, there were four name changes – Sinclair Houston Credit union (1962), Atlantic Richfield Credit Union (1972), Texas Bay Area Credit Union (1993), and finally Texas Bay Credit Union (2015). As the 50th largest credit union headquartered in Texas, Texas Bay CU currently has nearly 56,000 members and assets in excess of $697 million.
How the 24-35 Month CD Compares to 3-Year CDs
When compared to similar length-of-term CDs tracked by DepositAccounts.com that are available within the FOM and have minimum deposit requirements of $50k or less, only one credit union has a higher rate than currently offered on the Texas Bay Credit Union 24-35 Month CD. The following table compares the 24-35 Month CD to the four highest-rate CDs from other banks/credit unions within the FOM.
The above information and rates are accurate as of 1/13/2024.
To search for the best CD rates, both nationwide and state specific, please refer to our CD rates table page.
