First Bank of Greenwich Offers Excellent Promotional CD Rates

Availability and Account Opening

Headquartered in Cos Cob, Connecticut, First Bank Greenwich has a brick-and-mortar presence in Connecticut and Westchester County, New York, but the Bank’s market area is not limited by geographic boundaries.

According to CSR, anyone who can come into a branch location, is welcome to apply for an account. Before making a long drive, it would be prudent to contact First Bank Greenwich to ensure your eligibility to open a Promotional CD.

Opening a Promotional CD must be done in-branch at either of two Connecticut branch locations (Cos Cob and Stamford) or the single New York branch located on Westchester Avenue in Port Chester.

Funding and Other Details

The First Bank Greenwich website is light on documentation, but my questions were answered by a very helpful bank official.

Funding – ACH, wire, or check.
Interest – Compounded/credited monthly and can be withdrawn without penalty.
Maturing Funds – Owner of a CD must go into branch to authorize release of funds, or send a notarized letter authorizing a cashier’s check be sent to the address on file.
Beneficiaries – Up to four can be designated, percentages can be assigned, and Social Security numbers are required for all beneficiaries.
Grace Period –10 calendar days before automatic renewal. CD renewal terms: 13-month as a 12-month, 19-month as a 18-month, and 26-month as a 2-year.
Credit Check – ChexSystems.

Credit Union Overview

First Bank Greenwich has an overall health grade of "A" at DepositAccounts.com, with a Texas Ratio of 1.10% (excellent) based on June 30, 2022 data. In the past year, First Bank Greenwich has increased its total non-brokered deposits by $51.90 million, an excellent annual growth rate of 13.07%. Please refer to our financial overview of First Bank Greenwich (FDIC Certificate # 58307) for more details.

The First Bank of Greenwich is a young bank that was established in 2006. Originally known as The Bank of Greenwich, “First” was added to the name in 2009. Between the end of 2011 and end of 2016, the bank grew its total assets from $75 million to $265 million, increased its loans from $55 million to $232 million and expanded its deposit total from $62 million to $213 million, all accomplished with no mergers or acquisitions. The First Bank of Greenwich is currently the 21^st largest bank headquartered in Connecticut with assets in excess of $599 million.

According to a March 2017 Stamford Advocate article, First Bank Greenwich is “Bucking the Banking Trend.”

Bucking the trend of banks increasingly automating their services, First Bank expanded its brick-and-mortar operations by opening its second branch Monday, in a new building at 900 Summer St. First Bank executives describe the 1,250-square-foot center as an essential hub for forging close ties with customers.

The branch at the corner of Summer and North streets functions as a full-service banking center, open Monday through Saturday. Most of the branch’s transactions take place at a centrally placed “pod,” which functions like a front desk.

“This is our model branch,” said Frank Gaudio, First Bank’s president and CEO. “Everything we do forward will be this type of design. We wanted it to be welcoming.”

How the Promotional CDs Compare

When compared to similar length-of-term CDs tracked by DepositAccounts.com that are available within the market area and have minimum deposit requirements of $10k or less, no banks or credit unions have higher rates than offered on any of the First Bank Greenwich 13-, 19-, or 26-month Promotional CDs. The following table compares the Promotional CDs 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 2/11/2023.

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