Bank Deals Blog

There were no surprises that came from today’s FOMC meeting. The Fed decided to hold off again on a rate hike. It also announced that they “will initiate the balance sheet normalization program” in October. Both the FOMC statement and the Fed’s projections suggest a December rate hike is still likely.

Increased Odds for a December Fed Rate Hike

One reason the Fed may decide against a December rate hike is if inflation numbers are too low. Today’s statement doesn’t indicate that the Fed has any additional concerns about inflation. It...

In May, Flushing Bank launched its newest internet division, BankPurely. The inaugural offerings were the SavingPurely (1.30% APY) and CheckingPurely (0.75% APY) accounts; both rates are still in effect today.

BankPurely has expanded its product line and is now offer two PurelyCDs™: 12-month (1.60% APY) and 36-month (2.00% APY). The minimum deposit is $1k, with no stated balance cap. Both PurelyCDs™ require “new accounts and new money only.”

Over the weekend, Tennessee-based Consumer Credit Union (CCU) raised the rate on its 60-month CD (2.55% APY). There is no minimum or maximum deposit requirement.

With approximately 15 credit unions with “Consumer” in their names, it’s sometimes difficult to keep them all straight. Just don’t confuse Consumer Credit Union with Consumers Credit Union (headquartered in Illinois and known for its Free Rewards Checking Account) or Consumers...

The Fed has begun its two-day FOMC meeting. The FOMC statement is scheduled to be released at 2:00pm EDT Wednesday. Also at that time, the Fed is scheduled to release its federal funds rate projections and its quarterly economic projections. Then at 2:30pm, Fed Chair Janet Yellen is scheduled to hold a press conference.

No rate hike is expected at this meeting. The main question will be whether this year’s low inflation numbers will have affected the Fed’s outlook for the federal funds rate. We may see this in the federal...

Last week, SaviBank added an impressive 140 bps to its 24-month CD (2.00% APY). The CD can be opened with a $500 minimum deposit; there is no stated balance cap.

The 24-month CD was added to the product line in early 2011, with an initial rate of 1.50% APY. Over the next three years, that rate gradually declined to 0.60% APY, where it remained until last...

At the end of last week, New Jersey-based Garden Savings Federal Credit Union (Garden Savings FCU) added 51 bps to its 24-month Share Certificate (2.02% APY). The minimum opening deposit is $500, with no stated balance cap.

Even though it is not marked as such, CSR stated the 2.02% APY is a “special rate” and hinted it may not last long. A year ago, the 2-year Share Certificate also offered a...

Between April and November 2016, I wrote three blog posts about competitive CDs offered by Cedar Falls Community Credit Union (CFCCU). With last week’s rate increases on its Jumbo Certificates, it’s time to write a fourth. Of the 10-, 15-, 25-, and 37-month Jumbo Certificates, the 15-month has the most competitive rate. The minimum deposit is $100k, with no stated balance cap.

In May, Dallas-based TBK Bank launched CD Bank, its new internet division. As you might guess, CD Bank only offers CDs. Over the weekend, CD Bank raised the rates on most of its product line, with the most competitive CDs being the 9-month (1.40% APY), 12-month (1.65% APY), and 18-month (1.75% APY). The minimum deposit is $10k, with no stated balance cap.

The recent Equifax data breach potentially put more than 143 million Americans’ sensitive personal information like social security numbers, birth dates, driver’s license numbers and more at risk.

With such a big hit, what if your information has been compromised? The knee-jerk reaction is to freeze your credit. But is that a good idea?

Gerri Detweiler, education director for Nav.com, where business owners can check and monitor their business and personal credit for free,...

Huntington National Bank (Huntington Bank) has extended its long-running and popular Huntington 5 Checking® $200 bonus through October 31, 2017.

What sets this bonus apart from other checking account bonuses is that it does not require a Direct Deposit of any kind. Simply deposit at least $1k within 60 days and the $200 bonus is yours.

Qualifications for the $200 Bonus:

• Open a new Huntington 5...

The FDIC and NCUA recently released their reports of the second quarter health of the institutions they insure. They also released the 2017 Second Quarter Call Reports of all the insured institutions. We use these reports to derive our financial health grades for each institution. We have finished importing this data, and all of the health grades for banks and credit unions have been updated to reflect the June 30, 2017 reports.

You can view the latest health ratings of your bank or credit union in our Bank...