Another Top Short-Term CD Special at GE Capital Retail Bank

GE Capital Retail Bank (GECRB) (formerly MetLife Bank) has been offering a special 15-month CD for several months. Thanks to a DA reader’s email, I learned of another short-term CD special. This one is a 13-month CD with a 1.10% APY. Minimum deposit is $2,000. This is very similar to the 15-month CD special which has a 1.15% APY. The 13-month CD special may appeal to those who prefer shorter term CDs. Unlike the 15-month CD special, there’s no mention of this 13-month CD on GECRB’s main website. However, there is a special promotions page which has the details and the link to the online application. I did get confirmation from a GECRB CSR that this promotion is available to everyone. These rates are accurate as of 3/17/2014.

GECRB has been making its deposit products more competitive lately. Two weeks ago it increased its 5-year CD yield to 2.25% which puts it in the top spot for internet bank 5-year CD rates. Three weeks ago GECRB increased the rate of its High Yield Savings account from 0.90% to 0.95%. This rate applies to all balances. This savings account became competitive back in November when the bank raised the rate from 0.15% to 0.90%.

The bank’s CD early withdrawal penalties are fair, and it has some nice IRA CD features. Please refer to my last GE Capital Retail Bank CD and IRA review for more details.

Bank Overview

In January 2013 MetLife officially became GE Capital Retail Bank. As I mentioned in 2013, the products remained the same including the CDs, IRAs and money market accounts. In addition, they are still offering a free identity theft resolution service for deposit customers.

GE Capital Retail Bank’s main office is located in Draper, Utah. The bank has been around for awhile. It was established with FDIC insurance in 1988. However, it has not been in the retail deposit-taking business before the MetLife Bank acquisition. Its business focus has been on providing customized credit programs to retailers and consumers.

The bank has an overall health grade at DepositAccounts.com of an A with a Texas ratio of 8.05% (excellent) based on December 2013 data. Please refer to our financial overview of GE Capital Retail Bank for more details.

GE Capital vs. GE Capital Retail

One thing that’s confusing is that there are two GE Capital banks. The former MetLife Bank is GE Capital Retail Bank which I described above. GE Capital Bank is the other bank. It started offering an online savings account and CDs in May 2013. These are two separate banks, but both are part of the General Electric Company. They have separate FDIC certificate numbers (27314 for GE Capital Retail bank and 33778 for GE Capital Bank), and deposits in these two banks should be treated separately from a FDIC deposit insurance point of view.

GE Capital Bank also offers competitive rates, and unlike GE Capital Retail Bank, you don’t need large deposits to receive the best rates. These two banks appear to be competing with each other which seems strange since they’re under the same parent company. Nevertheless, this competition is good for us savers. I hope they don’t consolidate these two banks.

How This CD Rate Compares

If you compare this 13-month CD with 12-month CDs, it’s a top rate. Only two other institutions offer 1.10% APY on 12-month CDs. One is Connexus Credit Union, but the 1.10% requires an active checking account. The other is Melrose Credit Union.

To search for nationwide CD rates and CD rates in your state, please refer to the best CD rates section of DepositAccounts.com.