GMAC Bank Raises Online Savings Account Yield to 3.75%
POSTED
ON BY Ken Tumin
Update 3/27/08: The yield has fallen to 2.25% APY
GMAC Bank increased the yield on its new Online Savings Account today from 3.55% to 3.75% APY. With the big Fed rate cut on Wednesday, it's a pleasant surprise to see this rate hike.
GMAC Bank first launched this OSA last month. It has the same features as the Money Market Savings Account except the OSA has no check writing and no debit card. The advantage over the MMSA is a higher yield. The MMSA yield remains at 3.00% APY.
I reviewed the OSA in this September post, and I included my experience opening this account. At that time it was only for existing customers. Now the OSA application is available at GMAC's website, and anyone can apply.
For more details about GMAC's OSA, please refer to GMAC's OSA page or my account review.
I've been very happy with my GMAC MMS account. With the addition of the OSA, I now have higher yields, and I still retain the option of check writing and debit card usage with the MMSA. Both the OSA and the MMSA use the same ACH transfer system which is my favorite service among all online banks. Some of its key features include:
GMAC Bank's parent, GMAC LLC, continues to have problems especially with its home lending unit, Residential Capital (ResCap). This Bloomberg article describes the problems and how they need to be included in the Treasury's bailout program.
I'm not sure how this will directly affect GMAC Bank. There was some concern early in the year that GMAC may be forced to divest GMAC Bank or to terminate the FDIC status. As this MarketWatch article describes, this issue was resolved in July when the FDIC granted GMAC a 10-year waiver.
GMAC Bank's financial ratings for soundness have gone down a bit, but they remain decent: 3 stars (performing) at Bankrate.com and 3.5 stars (good) at BauerFinancial. Both are based on 6/30/08 data.
Rate History:
03/27/08: 2.25% APY
12/26/08: 3.25% APY
10/24/08: 3.75% APY
10/17/08: 3.60% APY
GMAC Bank increased the yield on its new Online Savings Account today from 3.55% to 3.75% APY. With the big Fed rate cut on Wednesday, it's a pleasant surprise to see this rate hike.
GMAC Bank first launched this OSA last month. It has the same features as the Money Market Savings Account except the OSA has no check writing and no debit card. The advantage over the MMSA is a higher yield. The MMSA yield remains at 3.00% APY.
I reviewed the OSA in this September post, and I included my experience opening this account. At that time it was only for existing customers. Now the OSA application is available at GMAC's website, and anyone can apply.
For more details about GMAC's OSA, please refer to GMAC's OSA page or my account review.
I've been very happy with my GMAC MMS account. With the addition of the OSA, I now have higher yields, and I still retain the option of check writing and debit card usage with the MMSA. Both the OSA and the MMSA use the same ACH transfer system which is my favorite service among all online banks. Some of its key features include:
- Fast ACH transfers
- short hold times
- Links to external accounts can be done online. Trial deposit method used for account verification
- No apparent limit on the number of external account links
GMAC Bank's parent, GMAC LLC, continues to have problems especially with its home lending unit, Residential Capital (ResCap). This Bloomberg article describes the problems and how they need to be included in the Treasury's bailout program.
I'm not sure how this will directly affect GMAC Bank. There was some concern early in the year that GMAC may be forced to divest GMAC Bank or to terminate the FDIC status. As this MarketWatch article describes, this issue was resolved in July when the FDIC granted GMAC a 10-year waiver.
GMAC Bank's financial ratings for soundness have gone down a bit, but they remain decent: 3 stars (performing) at Bankrate.com and 3.5 stars (good) at BauerFinancial. Both are based on 6/30/08 data.
Rate History:
03/27/08: 2.25% APY
12/26/08: 3.25% APY
10/24/08: 3.75% APY
10/17/08: 3.60% APY
I am still poking along using HSBC's ACH system. It is excellent in every regard except for the unpopular and expensive three day delay. Would this GMAC account give me all the HSBC ACH system advantages, while offering overnight (i.e., one day) ACH service?? If so, I just might give GMAC a try. Thanks!
They are offering a guaranteed 4% on their Money Market Account for 6 months with a 10k deposit. Not sure how long that rate is going to last, but it's a pretty high yield for a non-CD.
They're also paying $100 for a direct deposit into their free checking account.
Nothing to worry about...
Had a GMAC CD mature last week, I called to have it put into my checking, this also happened instantaneously.
My GMAC checking & CD accounts are all combined into a single paper statement.
Point of ACH initiation is important. If you initiate an ACH transfer at ANOTHER institution, and the money arrives at GMAC or at HSBC the next day, that quick transfer time does not accrue to the benefit of, it does not count as a positive for, GMAC or HSBC. It is instead a positive for the institution where you initiated the transfer. Apparently when an ACH transfer is initiated at GMAC, and I know for certain at HSBC, there is a three day delay in your seeing the result of that transfer. This is true whether you are moving funds into your account from outside [ACH pull] or moving funds to an account at an outside institution [ACH push]. In fact, if there is a weekend intervening, the delay time becomes five long days!
Now movement of funds via ACH today really only takes a day, most often. Thus, the aforementioned delay in crediting provides a way for the initiating bank to make money on the float, if they choose to do so. Since that ends up costing me money, I was hoping for more rapid crediting using GMAC than I am now being offered by HSBC. I continue to use HSBC's service anyway because it is flawless and I do a LOT of funds movement via ACH. They have never ****ed up; but it is expensive to use HSBC and I had hoped GMAC might offer a better alternative.
Still, I am grateful for and appreciate the responses. Thanks.
So who are the ones that transfer ACH quickly and have a short hold on funds once they are transferred?
GMAC and Provident look tops on the ACH withdrawal. Does anyone know how long they hold the money before you can use it?
Etrade 3 business days