Bank Deals Blog

The fifth bank failure of 2016 occurred on Friday. Allied Bank of Mulberry, Arkansas was closed by state regulators, and the FDIC arranged for Today's Bank of Huntsville, Arkansas to assume all of the deposits. Allied Bank was small with five branches and $64.7 million in deposits.

The last bank failure was on August 19th. This year we’ve been averaging just under two bank failures per quarter. So it’s likely we’ll see fewer bank failures this year than last year when eight banks failed. In recent times, 2010 had...

Earlier this week, Bank 21 raised the rate on its 14-month CD (1.35% APY). The minimum opening deposit is $500, with no stated balance cap.

The 14-month CD has been part of the product line for less than five months, and this week’s rate increase added 35 basis points to the original APY.

It is also offered as an IRA (Traditional) earning the same APY, with the same funding requirements.

According to CSR, the Early Withdrawal Penalty is three months...

Inspire Federal Credit Union (Inspire FCU) recently raised the rates on its 15-month Share Certificate (1.25% APY) and 30-month Share Certificate (1.76% APY). The minimum opening deposit is $500, with a “maximum amount allowable per certificate of $250k, and there is a maximum of one (1) certificate per social security number, per term.”

Both Share Certificates are also available as IRAs (Traditional, Roth, CESA) earning the same APYs, with the same funding requirements.

According to CSR, the Early Withdrawal...

Evergreen Bank Group (EBG) recently raised the rate on its Kasasa Cash account, with qualifying balances up to $15k now earning 2.25% APY. Qualifying balances over $15k earn 0.50% APY and non-qualifying balances earn 0.05% APY.

The Kasasa Cash account has been a part of EBG’s product line for more than three years, and the current APY is the first rate increase since its introductory rate of 2.05% APY.

Kasasa Cash Qualification Requirements

• At least 12 debit card purchases.
• Be enrolled in and receive eStatements.

On September 19, 2016, SunTrust Bank’s (SunTrust) Q3 checking bonus expired, and on September 20, 2016, the new Q4 checking bonuses were unveiled. While the qualifying requirements have remained the same, the dollar amount of checking bonuses has not and are dependent on which checking account is opened.

• $100 bonus when opening a new Essential Checking account.
• $200 bonus when opening a new Select Checking account.
• $300 bonus when opening a new Signature Advantage...

The Fed yet again decided to hold off on a rate hike at its sixth FOMC meeting of the year. As we have seen many times in the past, it doesn’t take much to convince the Fed to postpone a rate hike. The FOMC statement noted improvements in the economy, but the improvements weren’t enough. The following sentence was added to the rates paragraph in the statement:

Another important thing to note in the statement is that three members voted against holding steady. That’s the highest number since 2014. The...

When I was researching Del-One Credit Union’s (Del-One CU) 15-month Share Certificate Special (1.50% APY) for a previous blog, I remembered I had written about Del-One CU’s Better Life Checking account in 2012. At that time, the Better Life Checking earned 3.00% APY on qualifying balances up to $25k; the APY was lowered to 2.00% in early 2013.

The most current version of the Better Life Checking features tiered APYs on a maximum qualifying $25k balance, with the APYs determined by account activity.

Qualification Requirements

The following is a guest post contributed by Charles Rechlin, a long-time reader and friend of the site. His last guest post covered qualified charitable distributions. I would like to thank Charles for sharing more of his valuable experience on personal CD investing.

Notes on Personal CD Investing: Step-Up and Step-Rate CDs

by Charles Rechlin

Given the stir about the Federal Reserve possibly raising interest rates before year-end, I suppose it’s as good a time as any to revisit the subject of step-up and step-rate CDs.

I confess I have no new or...

Suncoast Credit Union (Suncoast CU) is offering two competitive long-term CDs: 48-month Share Certificate (2.00% APY), and 60-month Share Certificate (2.25% APY). Both require a $500 minimum deposit, with no stated balance cap.

These Share Certificates have been a part of Suncoast CU’s product line for nearly six years and the current APYs are the highest seen during that...

The FOMC meeting began today. At 2:00pm on Wednesday, the FOMC statement should be released along with the quarterly economic projections, which include the fed funds rate “dot plot” projections. Fed Chair Janet Yellen will then be holding a press briefing at 2:30.

I’m afraid most are expecting that the Fed will once again hold steady on interest rates. Here’s how economist Tim Duy summed up his expectations in this Bloomberg article:

However, the chance of a surprise rate hike on Wednesday may be higher than many believe. The reason for this...

UPDATE 9/20/2016: Following the acquisition of First Niagara Bank, KeyBank has expanded its market area to included Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania.

KeyBank’s latest checking account bonus is available now through August 5 October 7, 2016. KeyBank regularly offers checking account bonus for new bank customers and the latest offering is a $300 bonus.

Specific Requirements

• Open a new KeyBank Hassle-Free Account, Key Express Checking, Key Advantage, Key Coverage Checking, Key Privilege^SM, or...