Bank Deals Blog

Over the weekend, Liberty Bank brought back its 18-month Promotional CD with a new APY of 3.00%. The minimum opening deposit is $500 of new money, which is defined simply as “funds not currently on deposit at Liberty Bank.” There is a $250k balance cap and a limit of one Promotional CD per customer.

At the beginning of the week, Luther Burbank Savings (LBS) added an 18-month Step Up CD, which earns a composite APY of 2.83%. According to the Personal Banking Products page, the interest rate for months 1-9 is 2.63%, rising to 2.88% for months 10-18. The minimum opening deposit is $1k, with no stated balance cap.

According to CSR, the Early Withdrawal Penalty (EWP) for the 18-month Step Up CD is 180...

Earlier this week, Kohler Credit Union (Kohler CU) added new Share Certificate Specials: 9-month (2.75% APY) and 18-month (3.25% APY). The minimum deposit is $10k of new money, with no stated balance cap. Both Share Certificate Specials can be opened without new money (minimum $5k deposit), but the stated APYs are 75 bps lower.

The Share Certificate Specials are also offered...

New Hampshire-based Service Credit Union (Service CU) raised the rates on its Share Certificate Specials yesterday, adding 30 and 35 bps to...

Solvay Bank has raised the rate on its 36-month CD Special to 3.50% APY. The minimum deposit is $500 of new money, and the maximum deposit is $250k. There is a limit of one CD Special per tax ID and the offer is only valid for personal accounts.

According to CSR, the Early...

Popular Direct hasn’t changed their controversial 60-day account freeze policy, but the Bank took one small step to correct a mistake. A reader emailed me a letter he received from Popular Direct informing him of a credit adjustment that will effectively move the start date of the 2% APY from July 23 to May 17. When the Bank increased the Popular Direct Plus Savings Account APY from 1.85% to 2.00% on July 23, they had apparently failed to update the effective date. Below is the excerpt of the letter...

Knoxville TVA Employees Credit Union (KTVA ECU) has been offering a series of CD Specials for the past few years. KTVA ECU has added new money versions of these CD Specials with APYs 10 bps higher than their counterparts. The new money requirement is different than the usual “funds must not be on deposit with us” restriction.

Five Star Bank is currently offering a 13-month Premier CD Special earning 2.80% APY. The minimum deposit is $500 and is capped at $250k. A new or existing Premier Checking Account is required to open the 13-month Premier CD Special.

The Premier CD Special is also available as an IRA, earning...

Over the last 18 months, Arbor Financial Credit Union’s (Arbor Financial) has been offering a 13 month No-Penalty CD on a fairly regular basis. A new Certificate was recently added to the product line, and while Arbor Financial simply calls its “18-month Certificate Special,” it has the same no penalty features offered in the past.

The July Consumer Price Index (CPI) report that was released on Friday supports the continuation of the Fed’s policy of gradually raising interest rates. Core CPI which excludes food and energy “rose 2.4 percent for the 12 months ending July; this was the largest 12-month increase since the period ending September 2008.”

This CPI news and recent economic news on unemployment and GDP should keep the Fed hiking rates at a gradual pace, which will likely be once a quarter. That would mean rate hikes at the Fed’s meetings in September,...