Union Bank Raises Rate On 18-23 Month CD

Last week, Union Bank raised the rate on its 18-23 month CD. Deposits between $10k and $999,999.99 now earn 2.90% APY, with deposits of $350 to $9,999.99 earning only 0.15% APY. Union Bank's Rates page shows a maximum deposit of $100k, but CSR confirmed that the actual maximum deposit is just below $1 million.

While Union Bank offers the 18-23 month CD as an IRA, it earns 0.15% APY, regardless of minimum deposit. While that may seem strange, it really isn’t: the 18-23 month CD earned 0.15% APY on all deposit levels until the end of April 2018. The addition of 275 bps over the past six months has given the 18-23 month CD its highest rate in nearly nine years.

Here’s another interesting piece of information: based on current data, Union Bank’s 18-23 month CD APY is 20 bps higher than the 18-month Online CD APY offered by PurePoint Financial, Union Bank’s online division.

As stated in the Time Deposit Accounts disclosure, the Early Withdrawal Penalty reads as follows:

For maturity terms of more than one year, the greater of 1) 181 days’ simple interest at the rate being paid on the amount withdrawn; or 2) the compensating penalty.

We calculate the compensating penalty on a 365-day basis as follows:

1) We subtract the interest rate being paid on your original Time Deposit account from the rate we would pay on a new Time Deposit account in the amount of your original Time Deposit account with a term equal to the number of days remaining in the term.

2) Using that interest rate difference, we calculate the amount of simple interest that could have been earned on the amount withdrawn for the number of days remaining in the current term of the original time deposit.

Availability

Headquartered in San Francisco, Union Bank has a brick-and-mortar presence in California, Georgia, Illinois, New York, Oregon, Texas, and Washington, but most of its product line is available nationwide through online application.

There has been some question in the past if Union Bank CDs can actually be opened online, with some DA readers sharing their frustration with the Bank’s online application. An anonymous reader commented,

The account selection portion of the application lists checking, savings and money market accounts -- no CDs. So I just clicked on "next" without making a selection. I got the message "selection required." I selected a savings account and clicked on "next", hoping I'd be asked if I wanted to open any additional accounts. No such luck -- I was directed to the personal info page.

Maybe I did something wrong, or maybe CD options appear later in the process, but I don't know if you can actually open the CD online.

Anonymous, you didn't do anything wrong. Union Bank CDs can be opened online, but only by existing customers through the Bank’s Online Banking platform.

New customers can open a CD by phone (877.478.1832) or in-person at any of 347 branches located in California (323), Oregon (3), and Washington (21). According to Union Bank’s website, the Georgia, Illinois, New York, and Texas branch locations offer “services for Commercial Business customers only.”

Bank Overview

Union Bank has an overall health grade of "A" at DepositAccounts, with a Texas Ratio of 2.26% (excellent) based on June 30, 2018 data. Union Bank has an excellent capitalization level (13.75%), the result of holding $123.79 billion in assets with $17.02 billion in equity. Please refer to our financial overview of Union Bank (FDIC Certificate # 22826) for more details.

Union Bank is currently the second largest bank in California, with assets in excess of $123 billion and more than 2 million customer accounts. The Bank’s parent company, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) is the fifth largest financial group in the world, with total assets of more than $2.4 trillion.

How the CD Compares

When compared to 164 similar length of term CDs tracked by DepositAccounts.com that are available nationwide and require a minimum deposit of $10k or less, Union Bank’s 18-23 month CD APY currently ranks third.

The above rates are accurate as of 10/23/2018.

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