UmbrellaBank.com Short-Term CDs Have New Rate-Leading APYs

It’s time for some “DA déjà vu” – that feeling you’ve read this blog post before, but the rates are higher than you remember.

Texas-based UmbrellaBank.com (online division of Beal Bank) ended the week by upping its short-term CD APYs (the third rate increase in four weeks). With increases between 15-25 bps, the 3-month CD (4.85% APY), 6-month CD (4.95% APY), 9-month CD (5.00% APY), and 12-month CD (5.20% APY) have the highest rates currently offered by any internet bank, nationwide brick-and-mortar bank, or easy membership credit union. The minimum opening deposit for any UmbrellaBank CD is $10k. While there is no stated balance cap on individual CDs, UmbrellaBank “limits aggregate deposit balances to $1 million per tax identification number.”

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

If the original term of this certificate of deposit is one year or less, the penalty amount will be the greater of:

• 1% of the amount withdrawn;
• or One-half of the interest that would have been earned on the amount withdrawn during the entire term of the account at the interest rate being paid on the account.

Some Historical Background

Fourteen years ago, Beal Bank assumed the deposits of New South Federal Savings Bank (Irondale, Alabama), the original parent company of UmbrellaBank.com. Since that time, the UmbrellaBank CDs have been decidedly uncompetitive, with APYs of less than 1% for years. In late March 2022, the UmbrellaBank CD APYs started an aggressive upward climb, with the 12-month CD gaining 484 bps in ten rate increases. For more information about Beal Bank’s acquisition, please refer to my 2009 blog post, “UmbrellaBank and Imperial Capital CD Holders Take a Beating.”

Availability and Account Opening

Headquartered in Plano, Texas, UmbrellaBank.com is an online division of Beal Bank and offers its product line to U.S. citizens/resident aliens, 18-years or older, who have a valid Social Security number.

Opening an UmbrellaBank.com CD can only be done online.

While there is no Truth-in-Savings disclosure on UmbrellaBank's website, there is an FAQs page that provides some information.

Funding and Other Details

The following information is from a conversation with CSR.

• Funding – ACH.
• Interest – Compounded/credited quarterly and can be withdrawn without penalty.
• Maturing Funds – ACH, wire ($15 fee), or cashier’s check to address on file.
• Beneficiaries – Not allowed.
• Grace Period –10 calendar days before automatic renewal.
• Credit Check – Soft pull.

Credit Union Overview

As an online division of Beal Bank, UmbrellaBank.com operates under Beal Bank’s FDIC Certificate and shares its financial history.

Beal Bank/UmbrellaBank.com has an overall health grade of "A" at DepositAccounts.com, with a Texas Ratio of 12.32% (above average) based on June 30, 2022 data. The Bank has an excellent capitalization level (16.09%), the result of holding $4.5 billion in assets with $724.03 million in equity. Please refer to our financial overview of Beal Bank/UmbrellaBank.com (FDIC Certificate # 32574) for more details.

Beal Bank was founded in 1988 by Texas-based entrepreneur, D. Andrew Beal, and was originally known as Beal Savings Banc. Throughout the 1990s, the Bank purchased undervalued real estate, as well as savings and loan assets. Between 1992 and 2020, the Bank rebranded five times, with each successive name including “Beal” and “Bank” in some form. With a brick-and-mortar presence in California, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Texas, Beal Bank is currently the 19^th largest bank headquartered in Texas with deposits in excess of $2.5 billion.

How the 12-Month CD Compares

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 the UmbrellaBank.com 12-month CD. The following table compares the 12-month CD to the two highest-rate CDs from other banks, and the two highest-rate CDs from credit unions.

How the 9-Month CD Compares

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 the UmbrellaBank.com 9-month CD. The following table compares the 9-month CD 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 3/10/2023.

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