Vast Bank Offers 6-Month CD Special With Market-Leading Rate

Availability

Headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Vast Bank has a brick-and-mortar presence in the Oklahoma counties of Rogers, Tulsa, and Wagoner. Vast Bank’s market area was previously limited to Oklahoma, but according to CSR, out-of-state accounts can be opened by U.S. citizens and residents aliens (18 years or older) who have a valid Social Security number.

For those not living in the three Oklahoma counties mentioned above, opening a 6-month CD Special isn’t simple, as the Vast Bank website does not include an online application. Instead, the first step in opening a CD is completing the “Contact Me” form on the 6-month CD Special landing page page.

We need some basic contact information to get your CD application underway. Please fill out the form below and one of our Vast Bank team members will get back to you within 1 business day to set up your CD.

The form begins the application process but according to CSR, completing the process will include some email and/or snail-mail transactions.

A 6-month CD Special can also be opened at any of eight full-service Oklahoma branches located in Catoosa, Collinsville, Oologah, Owasso, and Tulsa (4).

Funding and Other Particulars

The following information is from a conversation with CSR.

Funding – ACH, wire*, cashier’s check, or internal transfer.
Ownership – Individual, joint, or trust.
Early Withdrawal Penalty – 3 months of interest; early closure only; principal not protected.
Interest – Compounded daily/credited monthly; interest can be withdrawn without penalty.
Maturing Funds – Wire*, cashier’s check, or internal transfer.
Grace Period – 10 calendar days before automatic renewal.
Beneficiaries – Unlimited, with equal shares. Social Security numbers or DOB required.
Credit Check – ChexSystems.

*The only method available to out-of-state accounts to fund a CD and receive maturing CD funds is a wire transfer.

Bank Overview

Vast Bank has an overall health grade of "B" at DepositAccounts, with a Texas Ratio of 4.26% (excellent) based on September 30, 2023 data. In the past year, Vast Bank’s total non-brokered deposits fell by $61.04 million, a below average annual growth rate of -9.35%. Please refer to our financial overview of Vast Bank (FDIC Certificate # 23737) for more details.

In 1982, Tulsa businessman and lawyer, Robert Biolchini, purchased two Green County banks, Valley National Bank and Bank of the Lakes. Operating as Valley National Bank for 37 years, the Vast Bank rebrand occurred in 2019. Wholly owned by the Biolchini family, Vast Bank is one of the few remaining independent banks in northeastern Oklahoma.

Vast Bank's Crypto History

Vast Bank was featured in the national news in 2021. According to a September 2021 article in Bitcoin Magazine,

Vast Bank has become the first U.S. bank with FDIC insurance and a Federal Reserve charter to offer Bitcoin services.

Customers at Vast Bank can now buy and sell Bitcoin directly from an FDIC-insured checking account, while its Bitcoin custody solutions include a mobile trading platform with instant settlement to its accounts.

Vast Bank had offered a nationally-available FDIC-insured checking account that customers could use to buy and sell bitcoins and other crypto currencies. Regulators were concerned. In November 2023, Tulsa-based News On 6 reported on an OCC consent order that required Vast Bank to "bolster internal controls with more reporting to the government." According to the article, "CEO Tom Biolchini said federal regulators had concerns about the bank holding cryptocurrency assets for customers."

Vast Bank has recently announced to its customers the end of its crypto venture. According to Vast Bank's crypto FAQs page:

To strategically align our operations, effective Wednesday January 31st, 2024, we will be disabling and removing the Vast Crypto Mobile Banking application from Google and Apple, which means your Vast Crypto Mobile Banking account(s), including any Digital Assets held in custody, will be liquidated and closed.

In the News On 6 article, the CEO claimed that their crypto venture was small with "less than 1% of holdings." So it's unlikely that these crypto checking accounts held much deposits. So that may not explain this top-rate 6-month CD Special. Vast Bank did receive some bad publicity from this venture, and perhaps that is contributing to Vast Bank's motivation to attract deposits.

Currently the 20^th largest bank headquartered in Oklahoma, Vast Bank has assets in excess of $1 billion and nearly 16,000 customer accounts.

How the 6-Month CD Special Compares

When compared to similar length-of-term CDs tracked by DepositAccounts.com that are available nationwide and have minimum deposit requirements of $10k or less, no bank or credit union has a higher rate than currently offered on the Vast Bank 6-month CD Special. The following table compares the 6-month CD Special to the four highest-rate similar length-of-term CDs from other banks/credit unions with nationwide market areas.

The above information and rates are accurate as of 1/20/2024.

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