Bank Deals Blog

In the past few years, State Bank of Texas (SBT) has been periodically offering nationally available special rate CDs. Currently, the only nationally available CD is a 12-month, with rates that aren’t that special (0.55% APY, $25k; 0.65% APY, $100k), but residents of Harris County (and seven contiguous counties) qualify for 0.85% APY ($100k minimum) on the 12-month CD.

According to CSR, the Early Withdrawal Penalty for the 12-month CD...

Competitive short-term and long-term CD rates are currently offered by Kellogg Community Credit Union (KCCU). The 17-month CD Special (0.77% APY) and 31-month CD Special (1.01% APY) can be opened with a $500 minimum deposit, with no stated balance cap.

The CD Specials are also available as IRA CD Specials (Traditional, Roth,...

CLB The Community Bank (CLB) began offering Kasasa brand products almost a year ago. The Kasasa Cash’s initial 3.15% APY on qualifying balances up to $15k is still in effect. Qualifying balances over $15k earn 0.50% APY (an unusually high second-tier APY for a reward checking account), with non-qualify balances earning 0.05% APY.

The monthly qualification requirements are easily fulfilled...

In the last two weeks, Synchrony was the only major online bank to lower its savings or money market rate. Its High Yield Savings account rate fell from 0.50% to 0.40%. I’m hoping that the other major online banks won’t follow Synchrony and other major online banks that have already cut their savings account rates to 0.40% (including Capital One, Barclays, American Express, Discover, PurePoint Financial, FNBO Direct, and Citizens Access). We’ll see how long Ally, Marcus, and a few other major online banks will hold on to their 0.50%...

Next week on April 27 and 28, the third FOMC meeting of 2021 is scheduled. No policy changes are expected and no new economic projections will be released. The meeting statement along with the Fed Chair’s press conference may provide some clues about when the Fed will start thinking about exiting from its zero interest rate policy.

The first exit step for the Fed will be signaling that it intends to taper its asset purchases (buying $80 billion in Treasury securities and $40 billion of agency mortgage-backed securities each month). In...

Porte is a brand of the financial technology company (fintech) Populus Financial Group that has partnered with MetaBank to offer unique checking and savings accounts. Like many of the new fintech bank accounts, Porte requires a mobile app to open and manage the account. You must first open the checking account, what it calls a demand deposit account. It’s a free checking account, but it pays no interest. Once you have the...

Wisconsin-based Independence State Bank has been offering Kasasa brand products for nearly three years. The Kasasa Cash Checking’s initial 2.15% APY on qualifying balances up to $15k is still in effect. Qualifying balances above $15k earn 0.25% APY, with non-qualifying balances earning 0.01% APY.

The monthly qualification requirements include,

• At least 12 debit card purchases
• At least one direct deposit, ACH credit...

St. Paul Federal Credit Union's (St. Paul Federal) reward checking account, Simply Checking, has maintained its three APYs (determined by monthly debit card usage) since the account was added to the product line in 2016.

In addition to the monthly debit card transaction (average $5 per transaction), the following requirements must be met to qualify for the...

Kasasa brand products have been offered by Community National Bank for nearly four years. The Kasasa Cash’s initial 2.00% APY on qualifying balances up to $20k is still in effect. Qualifying balances over $20k earn 0.20% APY, with non-qualify balances earning 0.05% APY.

The monthly qualification requirements are straightforward and fairly standard.

• At least 15 debit card purchases
• At least one direct deposit or...

Having opened its doors for business slightly more than three years ago, Beacon Community Bank (Beacon) began offering CDs in just the past year. All of Beacon’s long-term CDs currently have the same rate (1.00% APY), with the 30-month being the most competitive. The minimum opening deposit for any Beacon CD is $250 and there is no stated balance cap.

As stated on the Disclosures page, the Early Withdrawal...

New Dimensions Federal Credit Union (NDFCU) has been offering Kasasa brand products since 2017. The Kasasa Cash’s initial 2.50% APY on qualifying balances up to $15k is still in effect. Qualifying balances of $15k+ earn 0.25% APY, with non-qualifying balances earning 0.01% APY.

The monthly qualifying requirements are fairly standard and include,

• At...

In early 2020, St. Paul Federal Credit Union (St. Paul Federal) was one of the few financial institutions (FI) offering long-term CDs with 3%+ APYs. Top rates for long-term CDs are now much lower, but St. Paul Federal is still one of the few FIs offering a competitive 5-year CD rate. The 60-month CD currently earns 1.55% APY and can be opened with a minimum opening deposit...