TotalDirectBank CDs Are Rate Leaders - 24-Month, 2.60% APY

In September, I wrote about the new Direct Money Market Deposit Account (DMMDA) offered by Florida-based TotalDirectBank (TDB). The 2.35% APY on balances between $5k and $500k is still in effect. For more detail about the DMMDA, please refer the September 26 blog post.

In September, TotalDirectBank’s CD rates were fairly competitive, but in the past seven weeks as many other rates dipped, the unchanged TDB CD rates are now at (or near) the top. The most competitive of the five CDs in the product line are the 12-month (2.36% APY), 24-month (2.60% APY), and 36-month (2.60% APY). The minimum opening deposit for any TDB CD is $25k, with a $500k maximum amount allowed per client. (Note: the $500k maximum applies to “a combination of Certificates of Deposits and Direct Money Market Deposit Accounts” at TDB.)

The interest for CDs with terms of one year or more “may be paid monthly, quarterly, or annually by check or transferred to another account.”

As stated in the Disclosures and Schedule of Fees document, the Early Withdrawal Penalty reads as follows:

Terms of six months and up to one year (based on a simple 12-month year), the penalty will be 3 months of the simple interest earned (this computation is based on a year with 360 days)

Terms of greater than one year (based on a simple 12-month year), the penalty will be 6 months of the simple interest earned (this computation is based on a year with 360 days)

Funding and Maturing Funds

Funding a CD is done through a validated account (established during the application process), which can be an external checking, savings, or money market account. There is a 10-day grace period before a CD automatically renews.

Upon closing of the Certificate of Deposit, TDB will return funds in your Certificate of Deposit to the Validated Account or via a check to your address of record.

Beneficiaries

Two beneficiaries can be named on the online application, with an option to add more by contacting TDB. Social Security numbers are not required when naming beneficiaries and equal shares will be assigned.

Availability

As an internet bank, TotalDirectBank offers its product line through its online banking platform to U.S. citizens and resident aliens, who live anywhere in the United States, "with exception of Florida, California, Puerto Rico, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, US Virgin Islands and American Samoa.”

Opening any type of account (CDs and/or DMMDA) with TotalDirectBank can only be done utilizing the online application.

Bank Overview

As an online division of City National Bank of Florida (CNB), TotalDirectBank operates under CNB’s FDIC Certificate and shares its financial history.

CNB/TotalDirectBank has an overall health grade of “A+” at DepositAccounts.com, with a Texas Ratio of 1.50% (excellent), based on June 30, 2019 data. In the past year, the Bank has increased its total non-brokered deposits by $960.77 million, an excellent annual growth rate of 9.77%. Please refer to our financial overview of CNB/TotalDirectBank (FDIC Certificate # 20234) for more details.

As stated in the FAQs,

All deposits with CNB (including deposits through TotalDirectBank deposit products) are insured by the FDIC up to the applicable maximum amount allowed by law for each deposit ownership category. All balances for TotalDirectBank and CNB deposits would be combined for purposes of determining FDIC coverage eligibility.

With assets in excess of $15 billion, City National Bank is currently Florida’s fifth largest bank. Known as Florida’s “Big Bank Alternative,” CNB is a subsidiary of Banco de Credito e Inversiones (one of Chile’s largest banks), but maintains autonomous decision-making authority. In June 2018, CNB acquired Miami-based TotalBank, a full-service community bank owned by Banco Santander, a global multi-national bank. CNB’s new online division, TotalDirectBank, derives its name from the acquisition.

How the CDs Compare

When compared to 214 similar length-of-term CDs tracked by DepositAccounts.com that are nationally available with minimum deposits of $25k or less, TotalDirectBank's 24-month CD APY currently ranks first.

When compared to 209 similar length-of-term CDs tracked by DepositAccounts.com that are nationally available with minimum deposits of $25k or less, TotalDirectBank's 36-month CD APY currently shares the top place with Wheelhouse Credit Union’s 33-month Certificate Special APY.

When compared to 220 similar length-of-term CDs tracked by DepositAccounts.com that are nationally available with minimum deposits of $25k or less, TotalDirectBank's 12-month CD APY currently ranks second, regardless of minimum deposit requirements.

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

The above rates are accurate as of 11/12/2019.