Finding the Best Bank Rates and Deals #11

New internet bank at CBdirect.com with a 4% reward checking account and an online savings account

Omni National Bank CD rates are down but still very competitive

I have noticed that my bank, which list 5.01% is actually paying only 4.25% and has done so for a few month! This seams like false advertising to me? I know they state that the rate can change at any point of there choosing, and I'm fine with that, but it seam that they should be upfront with there advertising! Anyone else seeing this with there bank?

8:05 AM,

I have never calculated the interests on my own. Do you mind sharing the name of this bank?

HSBC just announced today (1/5/09) that, effective today, their online savings account rate will drop to 2.60% APY from 3.00%.

Got an annoucement letter from Alliant CU; Free High Rate Checking which will pay 3%. How to get: opt out of paper statements, and have at least one monthly recurring electronic deposit (direct, payroll, ATM, eDeposit[plus], or a transfer from another source). No info on the website that I could find.

did the amount of money in your account fluctuate?....average daily balance...?

Ocean Bank in Florida has a 3.74% rate on a 13 month cd and I believe a 3.54% on a 7 month cd.

The bank is, Asheville Savings bank! They do list the "Last statement APY earned" in there online account access section but you have to look hard for it. It is just odd they sill list on all there adds 5.01%. My dad has an account with another bank, Bank of Asheville,that clams to have 5.20% but we dug around in his account only paid 5.08% last month. Make me wander how many of these interest checking rates are correct!

Can you believe that AARP Savings rates are down to 1.98% (2% APY)?

Baxter credit union in Southern California has power checking account that yields 4.00% APY for balances upto $25000 and 1.00 % for the remainder of balance over $25000. This is one of the few credit unions in SoCal that offers high yield checking account.

No,I came to know that Baxer Credit Union has a branch in California, but it is primarily based in Illinois. Sorry!

Yes, I can believe the rate drop for the AARP Savings. Seniors tend to stay put with their deposit money and don't jump around like other people. Also, I am sure that with the AARP affiliation, they will feel that they are benefiting the organization (and themselves) by patronizing AARP connected businesses. It is the same concept as those affinity credit card programs.

Before yesterday, bankrate.com was listing the APY for the Capital One "money market account" as 3.00%. I think it was actually referring to the online savings account. Yesterday, however, it listed the yield for the above account as 2.64%. The Capital One web site still showed 3.00% for online savings. I spoke to a CSR but learned nothing. This morning the web site still says 3.00%. I spoke to another CSR who indicated the rate would change after 5 PM ET today but didn't know how or in which direction. She thought the yield for the account posted on bankrate.com was probably in error. Maybe it was, but I have found that some banks occasionally leak rate changes to bankrate.com a day ahead of time, so I'm not so sure. I'm on pins and needles here, so if anyone knows anything, please post.

Re: above note. Shortly after my call to the CSR, the Capitol One online savings account APY was changed on the Capital One web site to 3.64%. The yield on the Costco version is now 3.75%. The yield on the money market accounts remain unchanged.

Valley CU is offering a 4.25% 60-month CD. https://www.valleycu.org/rates.aspx#sharecert

Family Horizons Credit Union in Indianapolis, IN is currently offering a 4.75% 9 month certificate. A minimum of $2500 is required.

You need to either live or work in the Indianapolis area to become a member.

The website is a little plain, but their rates are always pretty good.
http://www.familyhorizons.com/

To: All Retirees
Re: IRA Cash Management

For those over 59 1/2, it bears repeating that some (not all) financial institutions offer folks over 59 1/2 the option of withdrawing partial distributions from their IRAs without penalty for early withdrawal and without affecting the underlying CD interest rate. I am currently using this wonderful option with State Farm Bank, and I understand PenFed offers it as well.

Here's the beauty. So, you are 59 1/2 plus. You have an IRA maturing, but think you might need some of the money in a year or so. Rather than try to play with a ladder, just plop it all into a 4.5% PenFed 5 year CD. When you need some of the money, you just request a "normal distribution" of whatever you need. The balance keeps earning 4.5% to term. The same concept applies to State Farm's CDs.

Folks, it's like you have a totally flexible CD ladder earning the maximum rate for the longest term in the ladder. And it's totally liquid.

This is a little-known perk for seniors (and is limited to IRAs) available at some (certainly not all) financial institutions.

You'll generally find out whether this option is available in the fine-print of the disclosure statement. Some CSRs might be aware, some might not. It does not come up often, as I was told by the State Farm CSR.

If you want more info, leave a message here, and I'll be happy to elaborate.

Bozo

TCF is giving 3.75 APY on their premier savings account and a $50 bonus

Charter Bank in New Mexico dropped their MAX Reward Checking Acct. to 5.01% from 6.01%

http://www.charterco.com/personal/turbo.cfm

Another reward checking account:
http://www.bankaltoona.com/rewardhecking.html
Not sure if it is Nationally available or restricted, but I don't see it on either list.

http://www.bankaltoona.com/rewardhecking.html

5.05% up to $25,000

2.5% on balances above $25,000

10 Debit Card Transactions
Direct Deposit

Sorry. 5.51% up to $25,000.

Direct Desposit or Automatic ACH Debit

6.01% reward checking at Bank Oskaloosa (a division of Bank Iowa, same as Bank Altoona, above): http://www.bankoskaloosa.com/rewardhecking.html

Alliance Bank is offering 6 month 4% APY and 13 month 4.15% APY CD's $500 min.

Alliance Bank no longer offers that rate - but it remains unchanged on the website.

GMAC Bank CD rates are now down to 3.75% for a 5 year term.

First New England Federal Credit Union : http://www.firstnewengland.org/fnefcu/SavingsRates.asp

9 month CD $10,000 minimum at 3.78%APY

Bank Deals ; I think you forgot hanmi bank money market in

http://bankdeals.blogspot.com/2009/01/bank-deals-weekly-summary-for-january.html

Bank Deals ; Can you please add http://www.google.com/friendconnect
to your website, so folks can connect more effectively at bankdeals ?
I did this for my blogger blog, its great

For those with share certificates set to mature at Pentagon Federal Credit Union, they will pay an additional .25% APY over the prevailing APY at your current share certificate's maturity, when the maturity option selected is "rollover". This applies to 3,4,5 and 7-year certificates only. Currently their 5-year share certificate yields 4.50%, so it will be bumped to 4.75% if it has been set to "rollover" at maturity.

Hanmi Bank accounts are only open to California residents. They have some nice 4.08% APY CD's (3, 6, 9 months) and a 4.2% APY "flexible CD" (6 months).

Don't forget Redneck Bank also has a 3.1% APY online savings account.

B.G.

text

Mountain America Credit Union
still has a 5 Year Certificate earning 4.75% APY

Become a member by joining their Travel Club ($10)

Check it out at www.macu.com

Hope it helps.

Mountain America Credit Union
still has a 5 Year Certificate of Deposit earning 4.75% APY
Become a member by joining the Travel Club ($10)

Check it out at:
www.macu.com

3.78% 9mo CD at easy-to-join First New England FCU is still available (4.04% for Advantage accounts). Refer to previous post for details. Refer to hot nationwide deals in this post for more of these deals.

4.75% 5yr CD at easy-to-join MACU is still available. Refer to previous post for details. Refer to hot nationwide deals in this post for more of these deals

Bozo posted on Jan 7th, 12:22pm
very informative information that seniors should be aware of.

The ability to use long term rates that exceed the ongoing rates and remove the funds without penalties before the maturity date. This is only good on IRA's.

Two more institutions who adhere to this policy are Wachovia and Kaiser Federal Bank.

With rates so low this is very useful at this time.

Las Vegas review journal newspaper advertised Midcountry bank with a 4% 12 month Cd for Clark County residents only. 1-866-918-9359. Bauer rates them with 2 stars and bankrate has a 1 star rating.

Also is a 4.25% 12 month Cd from Navy Federal credit union. 1-888-842-6328

BOA in Maryland is offering $75 to open an account with the NEA debit card. NEA is for the National Education Association. No proof of membership is required, all you gotta do is tell em you are with the NEA!

www.usaa.com
membership required but great savings rates.
Thanks for this great website, I use it regularly!

Can anyone suggest a bank in New York City with free checking (plain vanilla, no interest,no fees)

Open an Ameritrade account and get $100

http://www.saveyourself.com/

That $100 Ameritrade promo has been extended since I last posted on it in November. Thanks.

For NY City free checking, note that most reward checking accounts are also free checking accounts. However, there aren't many reward checking accounts in New York. Two small NYC institutions appear to have completely free checking: Montauk CU.

@Steven @ 9:50pm:

Sovereign Bank (www.sovereignbank.com) has free checking if you mean no min. balance and no monthly fee. Checks and non-Sovereign ATMs aren't free, but Sovereign has decent coverage in NYC, and even better they have ATMs in all CVS pharmacies.

Open an account in dollar savings direct is a nightmare the costumer service is to slow that took me two to three business days to veryfique if I am allow to open an account

@Bozo re: IRA for retirees,

Thanks, can you elaborate please? I'd like to understand better so I can pass the info onto someone who is now 69 1/2 (1 yr. away from having to make required distributions).

First New England Credit Union is offering a reward check account with no debit card transactions at 4.01% APY, $40K minimum balance, $500 monthly direct deposit.

That 4% $40K-min account is a good deal. I posted on this account on Dec 30th. Thanks.

Century Bank Direct down
Checking: 3.05% APY (was 3.35%)
Savings: 3.31% (was 3.41%)
Money Market: 3.32% (was 3.57%)

Imperial Capital Bank slightly lowered their iMoney Market Checking:

Minimum Balance APY1
$2,500 - $24,999 3.00%
$25,000 - $49,999 3.10%
$50,000 - $99,999 3.25%
$100,000 and higher 3.70%

Their iSavings Account Rates:

Tiered Interest Rates
Balance APY1
$50 - $9,999 1.20%
$10,000 - $49,999 3.20%
$50,000 or Higher 3.40%

~O-Qua Tangin Wann

Rate Edge drops to 2.80%.

Advantis Credit Union just RAISED their Rewards Checking from 4.12% to 4.2%, after dropping to 4.12% only recently! I wonder if we are seeing a bottoming of rates of sorts.

I don't know where to metion this, but I think it's important. I got an e-mail from the FDIC regarding a "fradulant fedwire phising scheme". I hope this is okay that I put it here.
It's under SA-20-2009.
Ann

http://www.fdic.gov/news/news/SpecialAlert/2009/index.html

My Money Blog recently came out with this post:

"$200 Savings Bond Bonus for Checking Account at Wainwright Bank"

Here's the link:
http://www.mymoneyblog.com/archives/2009/01/200-savings-bond-bonus-for-checking-account-at-wainright-bank.html

About $200 checking bonus, it's actually only $100. I described this promotion in this December post.

For anyone that locked in on Imperial Capital Bank's 4% Promotional Rate for their Savings Account, with the rate guaranteed until January 20th:

The Savings Account rate will drop to 3.5% on January 21st. On January 26th the rate will drop to 3.25%

(I expect the rate will drop even further sometime after that, of course, as most savings account rates are under 3% now.)

Imperial Capital Bank's iMoney Market Checking Account rate is also going to drop towards the end of this month.

~O-Qua Tangin Wann

Ken,

I love your website.

I want to add the following site to your radar screen. Firstcommandbank.com.

My brother-in-law, former Air Force, alerted me to this.

3.75% 6-month CDs
4.00 12-month CDs.

keep up the good work,

Peter

Apple Federal Credit Union has a 14 month 4.5% CD rate.

4.5% 14mo IRA CD was posted on Jan 4th. I have this and other hot deals available nationwide at this section of this post.

Bank Closing Information for National Bank of Commerce, Berkeley, IL
January 16, 2009
All deposit accounts and all loans have been transferred to Republic Bank of Chicago, Oak Brook, IL and will be available immediately.

Second bank closure of 2009:

Umpqua Bank Acquires the Insured Deposits of Bank of Clark County, Vancouver, WA

~O-Qua Tangin Wann

Alliant Credit Union reduced the CDs rate on 1/15/09:

12-23m 3.203/3.25; 3.348/3.40 jumbo
24-35m 3.348/3.40; 3.494/3.55 jumbo
36-47m 3.784/3.85; 3.928/4.00 jumbo
48-60m 4.025/4.10; 4.169/4.25 jumbo

On the 13th, the CSR told me over the phone that they usually changed rate at the end of the month. 2 days later, they reduced the rate. WOW...

Alliant Credit Union is going downhill fast, as far as offering attractive rates is concerned. Alliant is one of the strongest credit unions in the nation, with lots and lots of deposits. They are not hungry for deposits, and they know that people won't be able to get anything much higher anywhere else, so of course they are lowering their rates.

The Savings Account rate will drop to 3% shortly and then most likely even lower than that.

Imperial Capital Bank has lowered their iMoney Market Account rates:

Minimum Balance APY
$2,500 - $24,999 2.90%
$25,000 - $49,999 2.95%
$50,000 - $99,999 3.15%
$100,000 and higher 3.40%

I was told that the rates will continue to drop at Imperial Capital Bank.

~O-Qua Tangin Wann

Hello:

I enjoy your site and it has uncovered some very good deals for me over the years. HOWEVER, i think you are wasting your time posting CREDIT UNION rates and informations. If you polled your readers, then you would discover that most of us have no interest in credit unions. THANK YOU>

Wasting time with credit unions? Thanks for your comments, but what issues do you have with credit unions? My Pentagon FCU posts and Alliant CU posts have been very popular.

Banking Guy...don't listen to folks who don't know what they are talking about. I for one am interested in ALL your posts including those concerning credit unions. Thanks for all you do.

Beware: WAMU/Chase

I wanted to inform you and others who have used or use Wamu. I opened an online savings account checking, and the 5% CD at Wamu in August based on reviews about the account. Everything was fine until recently. I moved my money out of the savings as their rates fell flat and had about a $120 combined to keep the accounts active. Mind you, when I signed up it said, no min balance required. They started charging me a $4 for not maintaining $400 in the savings. All of a sudden my accounts were not linked anymore. They will not refund the fees, and claim I won't be charge in the future as they did me a favor and "linked" the accounts now... They clearly are trying to nickle and dime people now. It happened to my mother as well and she ended up closing her accounts, I guess I will do the same. Just an FYI for others to check if they have been charged...

Dear Banking Guy,

Please don't stop with the Credit Union postings.

We need all the information we can get. We need all the possible banks and credit unions we can get.

As you know, most every bank and CU has lowered their Savings rates below 3%. Alliant CU is still above 3% as of today. Because you report on Alliant, many savers have the opportunity to continue receiving a 3%+ rate at a strong institution with great customer service.

While people have the right to express their opinion, I hope you won't let the opinion of one poster influence you, when clearly the majority of your readers want all information, no matter what.

Thank you.

GMAC sux. I've trying to give them money for almost a month. They have had my check for over two weeks and still can't seem to open an account for me. I have opened cd's in 4 -5 other banks in the last year without any problems. These idiots at gmac are so ****ed up with their credit checks. It seems I would have had to have lived in one single place my entire life with the same single mailing and physical address - EVER.
UNBELIEVABLE. I have been convinced NEVER to deal with ANY part of g.m. I'll be buying my cars form elsewhere.

I had a similar experience with Hunington National Bank back in June 2008. My parents came in through AARP and the bank first said there weren't members of AARP ( and they were) and after we cleared that up they still held the money for another week stating their credit ratings were too low.

First Command has drop their rates already. I think the lack of rate lock is going to end up biting me.

Amcore Bank in Illinois has 78 locations and they are offering a 10 month CD for 3.47% and 39 month is 4%. Should be $10,000. or more.

Definitely keep credit union information coming. The best deals are there, not with the large megabanks rolling in bailout dough.

"I enjoy your site and it has uncovered some very good deals for me over the years. HOWEVER, i think you are wasting your time posting CREDIT UNION rates and informations. If you polled your readers, then you would discover that most of us have no interest in credit unions. THANK YOU>"

This individual must work for a banking lobby going after credit unions. The truth is that credit unions are the last bastion now for savers in this deteriorating rate environment. We must continue to publish information on those institutions that pay savers the highest rates whether banks or credit unions. That's not what one could call "wasting your time" at all.

INGDirect Orange Savings has dropped to 2.4% APY as of today, 1/20/09.

keep the credit union info---just skip it if you're not interested bozo

Thanks to info on this blog about credit unions, I'm sitting on a 24-mo. CD @ 5.39% (opened last year at Signal Financial FCU). Anybody who says to ignore CUs should himself be ignored.

Banking Guy its been a while **** CD rate have fallin off a cliff my last Cd came du last week was going to do that First Command yesterday morning couldnt get over there saturday in time looked here while loading thier site to grab phone# find out gone. I wound up just sticking it in CENTURY7 bank 3.00% checking account no funny crap just 500min no max free stuff ie checks,online only stipulation over 50. So this is for 50plus people. It is call Infinity Checking has maintained the rate since opening 6 months ago
http://www.centurybank.com/personal/

" Angelo_Frank said...
For those with share certificates set to mature at Pentagon Federal Credit Union, they will pay an additional .25% APY over the prevailing APY at your current share certificate's maturity, when the maturity option selected is "rollover". This applies to 3,4,5 and 7-year certificates only. Currently their 5-year share certificate yields 4.50%, so it will be bumped to 4.75% if it has been set to "rollover" at maturity.

8:36 PM, January 11, 2009"

Does anyone have confirmation of this or is it written out anywhere on their site? I couldnt find it have one next month coming due Thanks

The information came as an ad attached to the notification of maturity that was received from PenFed. This offer was as of December 1, 2008 and as usual "subject to change without notice" but I have seen nothing to rescind it as of yet. I am expecting it to apply to my share certificate that matures on 2/11/2009 since they sent the offer to me regarding that maturing certificate. Make sure your certificate is set to "rollover" upon maturity to receive the
.25% APY increase. To insure this applies to you, call PenFed at 1-800-247-5626.

Thanks Angelo_Frank

Century Bank Direct down again
Money Market: 3.09% APY (was 3.32%)
Savings: 3.26% (was 3.31%)
Checking - no change

D-Day has arrived for Imperial Capital's Savings II that had the rate lock of 4% through Jan. 20. I am not sure if the account is offered any longer to new customers. The drop wasn't too bad, actually. Branch tells me it's 3.50% yield now, though I expect it to drop slowly. I actually brought mine below $1000 for cash needs so my page shows blank for interest rate, but I called them up.

I understand where the previous comment about leaving out Credit Unions from this website is coming from since membership is limited to people who are eligible and is open to the general public. If you want to be strictly technical about it, the name of this website includes the name "bank deal", so a credit union is not a bank. However, given the fact that a credit union operates very similarly to a bank, then its inclusion on this website is not really off base. A credit union could actually be more closely related to a money market mutual fund since your deposited money is referred to as shares in both cases. You "own" the credit union and money market fund and you don't "own" the bank. Anyhow, since both banks and credit unions offer somewhat similar accounts, I don't think excluding credit unions would be the right thing to do here. Maybe this website could be changed to "insured financial institutions" instead?

I have noticed the Imperial Capital rate drops and was thinking about moving some money to an account there, but if they keep dropping their rates then maybe I should hold off. I don't want to get the "cyber" rug pulled out from under me.

Corrected post:
I understand where the previous comment about leaving out Credit Unions from this website is coming from since membership is limited to ONLY people who are eligible and is NOT open to the general public. If you want to be strictly technical about it, the name of this website includes the name "bank deal", so a credit union is not a bank. However, given the fact that a credit union operates very similarly to a bank, then its inclusion on this website is not really off base. A credit union could actually be more closely related to a money market mutual fund since your deposited money is referred to as shares in both cases. You "own" the credit union and money market fund and you don't "own" the bank. Anyhow, since both banks and credit unions offer somewhat similar accounts, I don't think excluding credit unions would be the right thing to do here. Maybe this website could be changed to "insured financial institutions" instead?

I have noticed the Imperial Capital rate drops and was thinking about moving some money to an account there, but if they keep dropping their rates then maybe I should hold off. I don't want to get the "cyber" rug pulled out from under me.

I received letter from Countrywide announcing plans to close their financial centers in my area (Chicago) next month. The letter goes on to advise that once Countrywide accounts convert to B of A "later this year," face to face service will resume at B of A branches. In the interim, my service options are limited to phone, online or mail. Presumably, other Countrywide account holders have or will soon be receiving similar notice. Personally, upon CD maturity, I plan to close out Countrywide accounts. Since acquisition by B of A, the money market rates have dropped off a cliff.

Save your time and effort applying for a CD with FirstCommand Bank. I got the following:

Thank you for your application for a deposit account with First Command Bank. After careful consideration, we regret to inform you that we are not able to approve your request at this time.

We are currently accepting applications only from existing First Command clients and individuals who apply in person. We invite you to apply for a deposit account at our branch location or visit a First Command Financial Advisor to apply (see www.firstcommand.com for locations near you).

We apologize that our online deposit account application did not make this clear, and we welcome the opportunity to serve you. If you have any questions, please contact us at 888-763-7600 or fcbcustcare@firstcommandbank.com.

Sincerely,

First Command Bank

Same your time and effort in applying for a CD with FirstCommand Bank. I received the following after applying online:

Thank you for your application for a deposit account with First Command Bank. After careful consideration, we regret to inform you that we are not able to approve your request at this time.

We are currently accepting applications only from existing First Command clients and individuals who apply in person. We invite you to apply for a deposit account at our branch location or visit a First Command Financial Advisor to apply (see www.firstcommand.com for locations near you).

We apologize that our online deposit account application did not make this clear, and we welcome the opportunity to serve you. If you have any questions, please contact us at 888-763-7600 or fcbcustcare@firstcommandbank.com.

Sincerely,

First Command Bank

To Marc, regarding Imperial Capital Bank's Savings II interest rate:

The rate will drop to 3.25% APY on January 26th.

I expect the rate to continue dropping after that. (It seems quite apparent that eventually, sometime in 2009, there will be no Savings Accounts that pay over 3%.)

~O-Qua Tangin Wann

Re inclusion of credit union information --- this reader uses the information on both banks and credit unions to get the best deal. I think that is what most of your readers want -- the best deal. Sometimes it means joining an association for a few dollars but in the end it is well worth it -- at least to this reader.

Keep on posting credit union deals - please!!!!!!!!!!!

Bank of Internet High Interest Checking rate has dropped to 2.60% as of today (1/21/09)

I found the following with a 5.51% reward checking account.

http://www.gulfbank.com/personal_checking_interest.html

DollarSavingsDirect down to 3.5% APY.

WAMU down to 1.00%

This is for Louisiana residents only.

"I found the following with a 5.51% reward checking account.

http://www.gulfbank.com/personal_checking_interest.html

By Anonymous, at 6:48 AM, January 22, 2009"

To: All
Re: Higher yields

I think I mentioned this before, but there are several ways to get higher yields. First, for high-deposit savers. go for the USAA Jumbos. The 7 years term sounds onerous, but you can flop the interest into a short-term CD, thus creating a ladder should interest rates turn higher.

Second, for senior-savers, go with something like PenFed's long term rate CD for their IRAs at 4.5% or whatever. You can get the higher rate while maintaining the ability to withdraw "normal distributions" without breaking the rate and/or term of the CD. These "normal distributions" are, in essence, partial withdrawals.

It's hard to get higher yields these days, but, with a little creativity, it can be done.

Bozo

GMAC Bank lowers interest rate on balances under $500.
Savings 2.40%
MMA 2.40%

I'm very grateful that bank guy includes credit union rates along with bank rates. Recently I was able to get a higher rate for a one-year CD at a local credit union that doesn't advertise than I could get anywhere else. The only way I learned about the CD rate was by reading this web site.

Bank Failure:

First California Bank, Westlake Village, CA, Acquires the Insured Deposits of 1st Centennial Bank, Redlands, CA?

~O-Qua Tangin Wann

Navy Federal cu has a new special for Ira/Esa's --4.6 APY for 30 months. It just started today 1/23/09. And keep those credit union deals coming. Credit Unions pay better interest rates than banks.

Oops on the Navy CU IRA special; it requires a $15,000 minimum deposit! Sorry

BECU just dropped the rate on the first $500 for the checking and savings from 7.25% to 6.0%

Everbank promo is 3.76 rather than the 3.83 you have listed.

Wrong regarding the Everbank promo. The money market list in the weekly recap gives the APY, not the rate.

Hanmi Bank appears to be getting ready to lower rates. The Freedom CD in the Flash Ad still shows 4.2% 6months. But the link shows 3.43%

Economists are predicting the Fed Funds Rate will stay at the 0% to 0.25% level throughout all of 2009.

From the AP today:

"With the country stuck in a painful recession, the Federal Reserve is widely expected to keep its key interest rate at an all-time low this week and examine other unconventional ways to lift the economy.

"Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and his colleagues are battling a three-headed economic monster: crises in the housing, credit and financial markets that — taken together — haven't been seen since the 1930s.

"While Bernanke has pledged to do all he can to provide relief, President Barack Obama and Congress are racing ahead to enact an $825 billion package of increased government spending and tax cuts to revive the economy.

"Against that backdrop, the Fed is all but certain to hold rates near zero and may offer greater insights into what other steps might be taken to ease the problems. The Federal Open Market Committee — the central bank's main policymaking group — opens a two-day meeting Tuesday to assess economic and financial conditions, review the effectiveness of programs already in place to deal with the trio of crises and examine new relief options going forward."

~O-Qua Tangin Wann

At its previous meeting in December, the Fed took the unprecedented action of slashing its key rate from 1 percent to a new, targeted range of between zero and 0.25 percent. Economists predict the Fed will leave rates at that record-low range on Wednesday and probably through the rest of this year in a bid to help brace the economy.

Re you listing on Hanmi Bank in California lowering is 6-month Freedom CD rate from 4.20% to 3.43%: It is still listed as being 4.20% on the bank's Web site home page, in the changing window toward the top!

https://www.hanmi.com/

Confirming rate drop today:

Imperial Capital Bank iMoney Market Checking Account rate for balances over $100,000 has dropped to 3.25% APY.

Imperial Capital Bank iSavings Account rate for balances over $50,000 has dropped to 3.25% APY.

It is anyone's guess how low Imperial Capital's rates will go.

~O-Qua Tangin Wann

CitiBank is touting their Citi CashReturn(SM) Card. Cash back for about every kind of transaction.
Take a look:

http://creditcards.citicards.com/usc/cash/cashreturns/dollars/default.htm?BT_TX=1&ProspectID=099DE099DB5FD72C45078F03ACD69802B24A

This Citibank credit card program is still not as good as the one that I already am enrolled in. I get 2% at gas stations, grocery stores, and drug stores and 1% everywhere else. And I can get extra bonuses through the Citi bonus Cash Center. The potential of earning up to 5% at the bonus Cash Center doesn't help me at all. Most of these participating merchants sell discretionary consumer products which don't amount to much on my overall spending budget. The guaranteed 2% rate is better than the bonus Cash Center for me.

I did notice the Imperial Capital rate drop down to 3.25% for their top tier Savings and Money Market accounts so it matches the Savings II rate available only at a branch office. I will see how the trend goes for the bank. I have a six figure sum of money that is earning a paltry rate below 1% right now and is looking for a new home.

Hanmi Bank in California this morning dropped its CD rates. NOw are:

6 month Freedom CD = 3.43 APY

3 months = 3.55 APY
6 month CD = 3.52 APY
9 month CD = 3.53 APY
12 month CD = 3.52 APY

https://www.hanmi.com/Hanmi/images2/rates_cd.html

Fed just announced at their meeting today that they will keep the Fed Funds rate at zero for quite some time.

No increase for a long time.

No one in Washington cares that savers who just want to keep their money in federally insured banks cannot make decent interest on their money.

Rate Edge just dropped again, this time down to 2.60%.

Gulf Bank account is not for La residents only.

Rates fell at Century Bank Direct. Checking now 2.59%, MMA at 2.82% and savings now at 3.04%. Oh well...

Andrew, most every bank and CU in the country have MMA and Savings rates under 3%.

The tiny few that are 3% and above will fall below 3% when either their promotional periods are over or just with every passing week.

No bank or CU can afford to pay over 3% for a MMA or Savings Account when the Fed Funds Rate is at 0%.

For those of us who made a sweet amount of interest on our Savings or MMA in 2007 and 2008, we will now have to suffer a huge income drop for all of 2009 (and maybe beyond).

The argument that a bank cannot afford to pay 3% because the Fed Funds target is 0 - 0.25% is incorrect. Banks make money on the spread between their yield on deposits and cost of loans - if a bank is lending at rates higher than 3%, it can certainly afford to pay depositors 3%. Now, for many reasons, few banks will pay 3%in this environment.

Andrew, you are absolutely incorrect.

If you take into account what a bank earns on its loan rates and then add its overhead, you would see that a bank absolutely cannot make a profit if they pay 3% or more right now.

Plus keep in mind that banks do not take 100% of deposits and then loan out that money at the higher rate. Some banks loan each other money with your money, and the rate they get is fairly close to that Fed Funds Rate.

You are wrong. A bank cannot make a profit if they are paying out more than 3% for savings/MMA in today's environment, and that is why 99% of all banks now are paying 3% or less.

RE: YOUR POST that GMAC Sav, MMA rate is 2.40% (was 3%, 2.5%)

This is INCORRECT -- according to GMAC's website, the rate for GMAC Savings is 3%, MMA 2.5%:

http://www.gmacbank.com/index.html

The GMAC rates were changed back sometime yesterday...very strange.

Apple FCU is offering a 7% CD for a 6 month term on deposits of $500-$2000 if you open the account at their Kingstowne branch in northern Virginia.

CoreFirst Bank & Trust has a 3.3% APY (up to $25k) rewards checking account. 5 free ATM refunds per month. .2% for balances over $25k or if you don't meet the requirements.

Requirements: 1 monthly direct deposit, 10 signed check card transactions, 2 internet bill pay transactions.

They also had an advertisement at my local Denver bank for a 3.5% 6 month CD, but can't find any reference to that on their website. http://www.corefirstbank.com/

ProvidentDirect just dropped their savings rate APY to 2.82% from 3.00%. It was only a matter of time.

Note: ProvidentDirect was offering %3.25 APY on their savings before dropping it to %2.82. (Sorry for the error in my previous post)

From another website:

Just opened a Clear Sky Account today, Friday, Jan. 30th, to lock in the 3.75 and was advised via phone contact with a Chesapeake Bank rep handling Clear Sky that effective Monday, Feb. 2nd, the Clear Sky online rate will drop to 3.15. So you have through Sunday, Feb.1st, to open up and lock in the 3.75 until end of March when it will reset to ?, the new 3.15?

Just got another WaMu Flyer. This time get $100 for opening a Free checking account with Direct Deposit.
$100 minimum to open.
Says Direct Deposit must be payroll, Social security or other Government paycheck.

Tri-Co Federal Credit Union in New Jersey has some very attractive CD rates. They lowered their CD rates yesterday, however, the rates are still attractive. Joining the credit union costs $25.00 and it's refunded when you leave the credit union. You need to meet their requirements to join and for NJ residents, they try to help you meet the requirements. Their website is:
http://www.tricofcu.com/

AARP Savings down to 1.5%.

Alliant Credit Union rep confirmed to me that their Savings rate will drop to 3% APY on February 1.

I wish I could say that the bottom will be 3%, but I fear that the rate will continue to drop.

Now we have to seriously consider transferring money from Alliant CU to Broadway Federal, which is still 4.08%.

Pacific Resource Credit Union is offering Health Savings Accounts with yields as high as 5%.

MidWest America FCU has dropped its rate to 5.11%.

Confirming Rate Drops:

Alliant Credit Union Savings is now 2.96% with a 3% Yield.

Imperial Capital Bank dropped both its iMoney Market Checking and iSavings to 3.10% APY for its highest balance tiers.

~O-Qua Tangin Wann

Corus Bank is on the ropes.

The company said $1.5 billion, or more than one-third, of its loans were nonaccrual.

Corus also said Treasury had issued a preliminary response indicating that they intend to reject the bank's Nov. 14 application for funds under the $700 billion TARP.

Based on recent discussions with the Bank's regulators, management believes it is likely that the Bank will be held to higher capital standards in the near future and, as such, may no longer be considered well-capitalized and may be required to identify additional sources of capital.

The stock was trading at noon at around 64 cents a share.

Mexican bank: Capital Bank, Tijuana, Mexico.

Do you or does any of your readers have knowledge and experience with foreign bank accounts, such as Capital Bank? It was advertised on this blog, and I know advertisement does not come with any kind of endorsement, but any knowledge or experience that can be shared would be greatly appreciated.

The CD rates are very high return, lack insurance, plus the political risks associated with directly investing a high dollar amount in a foreign bank. However, the bank provided presentation of stability looks impressive.

I'm looking for some objective resource input to help me make a decision about considering this high reward/high risk investment.

At-Home Dad

Dear At Home Dad,

Don't do Mexico!

You need to be able to sleep at night without worrying.

Some think the Mexico government will eventually collapse.

We are not making any decent interest rate on our savings here in the USA, but at least we can sleep at night knowing our money is insured.

At-Home-Dad

You may want to consider a Currency ETF instead. If you are interested in the Mexican Peso then:

Symbol: FXM
CurrencyShares Mexican Peso Trust

Might be of interest. They have a website www.currencyshares.com

Its not FDIC covered. However, if something terrible happens in Mexico you can at least sell what you have and not worry as much as a Bank Disappearing into the night.

Just my two cents. And the above is not an endorsement of said product.

Mountain America CU, easy to open, 5 year cd is now 4.5%(last week 4 3/4%), 90 day early withdrawal penalty (no mention of needing consent of CU for withdrawal).

EverBank is now down to 2.73% APY on their Yield Pledge Money Market Account for the first year, for accounts of $50K or less. After the first year, the APY drops to 2.46% for all account balances.

Banker's Trust Phoenix Az has 3.50APY
Pick your term 8-18 months good thru 3/9/09. FDIC insured.
(602) 224-2020

ING is down to 2.2%.

And Etrade is down to 2.5% from 3.01%.

1st mariner bank 10 month hybrid cd is 3.75%. Good rate for a short term cd. See past write up at http://bankdeals.blogspot.com/2008/07/425-10-month-online-hybrid-cd-at-1st.html

Provident Bank is offering a $123 checking bonus with direct deposit. Promo page at https://www.provbank.com/personal/checking/promotions/123-checking-promotion.php

Manager at Pacific Resource Credit Union in California confirmed that their Regular Savings Account interest rate for balances of $100,000 and up dropped from 3.25% APY to 2.75% APY. (The drop has not been posted on their Website as of this minute, but the manager verified the rate just dropped this morning.)

~O-Qua Tangin Wann

Corus bank used to have among the highest savings rates for a long time. That will probably not be seen again soon. Rates are now approaching levels that were last seen back in 2003. Maybe I should open the Providenet checking account and get the $123 bonus? Or should I just put the money into the Imperial Capital savings that is currently 3.1%?

@ Banker's Trust Phoenix AZ's 3.50APY - Thanks for the info. I just called. Unfortunately, they are ending it early. I was told it will end at 5:00pm today (2/3/09).

As the spread between banks start to shrink as rates drop, expect the 1 star rated banks to offer rates comparable to the 5 star rated banks. In that scenario, it doesn't pay to stay at the weaker banks.

It doesn't matter what bank your money is at (weaker or stronger banks), as long as you are federally insured. Sometimes the weaker banks are better at customer service, etc., so you are wrong.

Don't go to Imperial Capital Bank, as their rate will fall below 3% APY very soon.

They have been slowly dropping their rates every week now.

I am with ICB, but I got in during their 4% Savings II promotion. Today it dropped to 3.1%, but I was told the rate will continue to drop. They are doing it slowly to try and avoid a big exodus.

Bank of Internet High Yield Savings down to 3.10% and Checking down to 1.60%.

First New England FCU promo:

CD Rates - Special

9 month CD, $10,000 minimum, 3.27% APY

9 month CD, $10,000 minimum - Advantage accounts 3.52% APY

18 month CD, $10,000 minimum, 3.01% APY

18 month CD, $10,000 minimum - Advantage accounts, 3.27% APY

Liberty Savings FCU in Jersey City, NJ still has CDs at and above 4.00% APY for terms of 54 to 72 months. Membership is open to people who live, work, worship or go to school in Hudson county, NJ. Membership requires the opening of a primary savings account (minimum of $25, but $100 required to avoid $2 per month fee). Liberty Savings is NCUA insured and rated 2 stars by bankrate.com.

Check out the best rates on short term deposits at big banks versus those at select community banks from CheckingFinder.com. Community banks continue to offer higher yields on short term deposits to serve as economic engines.

COMMUNITY BANKS

Florida Central Credit Union 6.01 FL
First Robinson Savings Bank 6.01 IL
Union State Bank/Bank of Atchison 6.01 KS
Communications Federal Credit Union 5.25 OK
Connexus Credit Union 5.15 WI
Keystone Bank 5.15 AL
First New England Federal Credit Union 5.15 CT
Three Rivers FCU 5.01 IN
Legence Bank 5.01 IL
Community Bank of Pleasant Hill 5.01 MO
Community Bank of Raymore 5.01 MO
United Heritage Credit Union 5.01 TX


MEGA BANKS

• ING decreased their highest rate offered by 25 basis points, from a 2.50% APY on a 1 year CD to a 2.25% APY on a 4 year CD.
• Schwab decreased their 18 month CD rate by 15 basis points, from a 2.65% to 2.50% APY.
• E*Trade decreased their 5 year CD rate by 30 basis points, from a 1.70% to 1.40% APY.
• E-Loan increased their 6 year CD rate by 50 basis points, from a 3.50% to 3.70% APY
• Washington Mutual decreased their 5 year CD rate by 50 basis points, from a 3.00% to 2.50% APY.
• AARP Financial Savings Center decreased their savings rate by 50 basis points, from a 2.00% to 1.50% APY.
• Wachovia increased their 17 month CD rate by 15 basis points, from a 1.85% to 2.00% APY.
• E-Loan currently has the highest rate at 3.70% APY on a 6 year CD.
• E*Trade currently has the highest savings rate at 3.01% APY.

Courtesy of BancVue.

I have two cds with VINEYARD BANK since 1/2008.They are paying 4.75 APY for 24 months with unlimited additions. I have been making regular deposits since they were opened with no problem. Yesterday I tried to make a deposit and they said they were no longer allowing deposits to this type of CDs. My disclosure states that I have the right to make unlimited deposits. Has anyone else experienced this? I seems unethical.

Hanmi Bank has decreased the Bonus checking account rate to 3.04 % APY for balances under $25000

Hanmi Bank Internet Savings Account (Special Online Only Rate) is paying 3.04% APY. (I am wondering why Banking Guy doesn't list this account in the weekly summary?)

Internet Savings Disclosure:

"Minimum balance to open is $100. If you close your account before interest is credited, you will not receive the accrued interest. A monthly maintenance charge of $3 will be imposed every statement cycle if the balance in the account falls below $500 any day of the statement cycle. If you close your account within 90 days after opening, $20.00 will be charged."

~O-Qua Tangin Wann

To Eve at 6:22 PM, February 03, 2009


You may be right about customer service issues for the weaker banks, but liquidity and solvency are more important issues, in my opinion.

To Westwood at 6:24 PM, February 03, 2009

Thanks for the update. I guess I will take a wait and see attitude on this. Just have to play a guessing game as to who can sustain the high rates longer.

Vineyard Bank is taking the position that they can change any term of their CD's at any time--as in, for example, your interest rate is now 0% and your early withdrawal penalty is 100% of any interest previously paid. They didn't give that exact example, but that was the gist of it.

They are also taking the position that they, in effect, will notify you of this, basically, when they feel like it.

Regarding Vineyard Bank--they must follow the CD disclosures. File a complaint with OCC here: http://www.occ.treas.gov/customer.htm#Filing%20a%20Formal%20Complaint

They are in serious financial trouble. If another bank takes them over, then the rates/disclosures can be changed, but not until that happens.

B.G.

DataIsGold 10:25 AM, January 31, 2009 + text

And Gmac is down to 2.75% for Savings all tiers.
2.25% for MMA all tiers.

According to the FDIC FirstBank Financial Services of Georgia has been closed and the branches will reopen as Regions Bank. It looks like all deposits are safe.

http://www.1stconstitutiondirect.com/Direct/Direct_super_%20savings_details.html

First Constitution Direct is offering 3.50% for 3 months.

After three months, the standard rate applies which is currently 3.25%

My money is spread out in accounts between banks with rates of 2.2, 2.25, 2.3, 2.64, 2.82 3.0, and 3.25%. It sure is starting to feel crowded at the bottom!!!!!

You mentioned 7 different rates, which means 7 different banks.

Since the minimum insurance one can get at a bank is $250,000, you must have a helluva lot of money.

Lucky you.

To Anonymous at 10:11 PM, February 06, 2009

The $250,000 limit is the maximum, not minimum, amount of insurance for insured deposits. Actually, I have not reached that amount in any individual bank account among the seven rates listed. My funds are somewhat unevenly distributed between the seven banks. The higher percentages of the funds are in those with the higher rates. So I have many accounts (besides these seven) where I have a small balance. It does make for a record keeping nightmare of sorts. I guess I could also lump all of the money together into one account, but nobody at this point is offering an interest rate difference that would make that worthwhile. So I just allow many of my accounts to remain open. I do follow the principle of not having all of my eggs in one basket, even if I am not close to the insurance limit. All you need is for one bank to become insolvent and frozen and if you placed the bulk of your funds there, you are SOL. I think a lot of people are either lazy or don't want to have to track too many accounts. I believe in spreading the wealth, so to speak. But, I am sure that there are some bank customers who keep track of their balances and when it comes close to the insurance limit, they then open another account at another bank or a different registered account type. Personally, I wish I did have the maximum insured amount in all seven banks though. I haven't checked my net worth lately, so my 401(k) and bonds amounts might boost my bottom line.

I came up with a way to boost my yields. Open multiple reward checking accounts to the maximum before it hits the tier rate drop. That would nearly double my yield. Only problem is that I have to open over 20 of these accounts and have to execute about 200 debit card transactions per month. That would be a debit card nightmare. I would have to ask my utility company to split my payments into $1 each. Or maybe I could buy a 200 packs of gum each month at the store?

Hi, I'm hoping someone can look into what Chase is doing to it's existing customers. I have been with Chase for 10 years, have a great fixed, life of loan interest rate, and pay on time. I'm sure this fixed, life of loan rate is the reason I have just received notice that now, the minimum payment percentage has gone from 2% to 5%, and, they are charging a $10.00 monthly fee. The increase in minimum percentage more than doubles my monthly payment. The monthly fee that they did not have before, basically takes the old annual fee of $20.00 or $25.00, which used to be a card you would try to avoid, and propels is to $120.00 annually just to have the card. I am sure they realize that they are now losing a guaranteed monthly amount, small as it may be. I intended on paying off the balance and letting them just maintain the account, but they are still going to charge the $10.00 per month. So now I have to close the account. Now the issue is that this will affect my fico score. Once closed, this account will no longer be considered part of my 'good' credit history, correct? Some part of me says that there should be something illegal about them being able to affect that part of my personal worth. There has to be someone or someplace that can do something about this. I apologize if this is the wrong place to vent and question, but after browsing through all the great info you have on this site, I thought this would be something everyone should be up in arms about. Thanks for all your info and insights.

Attractive 1yr Jumbo CD here:
http://www.parda.com/rates_main.asp

David

Opportunity Bank N.A, Richardson, Texas, has Money Market <25k = 2.25%; <75K = 2.50%; <200K = 2.75% and > 200K = 3%. Prety good for todays rates.

To Anonymous at 9:30 AM, February 07, 2009

I am not sure if is the correct venue regarding what I believe is the Chase amendment to your credit card account terms. Banks, unfortunately, reserve the right to change ANY terms of your account (whether it is a credit card, checking account, savings accounts, loans, or any product that they offer). All they have to do is provide you advance notice. They can jack your rate sky high. Tell you that your checking account will be charged a $100 monthly fee if your balance is below 1 million dollars per month starting next month if they wanted to. They have a lot of leeway in modifying their product terms and conditions. Even if you banked with them your entire life from childhood to retirement, it does not make any difference. The only thing that matters is their banking operations bottom line. Just like state governments that are cutting their budget spending and trying to find ways to get more money from the residents, the banks which have bled a lot the past year are also probably doing the same. Not to go off into way off base on this, the massive federal spending and budget deficits is going to eventually be a major problem in the future.


This is the intro for this website by the way.

"I started this BankDeals site as a hobby to help people find the best deals at banks and credit unions."

I couldn't find any information on this site specific to loans, credit cards, and lines of credit topics. But I am sure there are many websites geared to those topics.

To Anonymous response to February 7 post - Thank you. I didn't realize until after I posted, that the blog section was for deals only (although I've been checking the site everyday for those same great deals)!
I know the CC Co's can change their own terms, but when that forces the procedures of the credit bureaus to have faulty, incorrect results . . . as you implied, the future is not pretty.
I really appreciate that you took the time to respond. Thank you very much.

I just noticed while checking Navy Federal Credit Union webpage.
Special Easy Start Certificate, 4.00% 1 yr CD. Minimum deposit $100. Sounds good, I will be checking this one out 2/9.

Bank of America referral bonuses

https://epreferences.bankofamerica.com/asbs/htm/landing_page/terms.html

We pay the incentive to an existing Customer (Referrer) by check after we verify that the new customer they referred opened a qualifying new checking account and also meets the other terms of this offer.

The new customer will receive $25 for opening a personal checking account, plus the following bonuses if the additional account is opened at the same time as checking: $10 for opening a Regular Savings account or $25 for opening a Regular Savings account with at least $1,000, for a total of incentive of up to $50.

(note long list of requirements, including $25 minimum balance in checking for 30 days).

To Anonymous who posted on 8:39 AM, February 08, 2009

There are many things about banks that I don't agree with. For example, the loan amortization schedule that lists the first payment as 99% interest and 1% principal and the very last payment as 99% principal and 1% interest. So, if you failed to make that very last payment, the bank technically can foreclose or repossess your property.

Also, your concern about the credit file history being affected by closing accounts. The FICO score is based on your overall credit history of active accounts. When you close those accounts, you end up like someone who never took out a loan before in his life. That then forces you to open accounts elsewhere to make up the difference, but then the longevity factor is gone. To be honest, I have never heard of a FICO score until just recently. I think it is some kind of trumped up numeric figure that some accountant came up with (the company that created this term is called Fair Issac Corporation. Who or what is that?).

"Most lenders use credit scores, and in particular the FICO scores created by Fair Isaac Corp."

"This key credit number can determine your house payment, your insurance rates, even your next job, yet you have to pay to see it. That's wrong."

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Banking/YourCreditRating/DemandYourFICOScoreNow.aspx

It should be noted that if on breaks a cd at Melrose Credit union then half of the interest is forfeited.

Imperial Capital Bank interest rates plummeted today.

iMoney Market Account's highest rate is 2.35%.

iSavings Account's highest rate is 1.85%.

~O-Qua Tangin Wann

In reference to the new "Special" Navy Federal Credit Union "EasyStart" certificate:

Limit one Special EasyStart per member. A $10,000 maximum balance. Special EasyStart requires Navy Federal checking account and Direct Deposit of Net Pay ($500 min) within 90 days of purchase.

Too many restrictions and the maximum balance is too low to go for the higher yield.

Thanks for the news about Imperial Capital rate drops. I did NOT bite and move any new money into that bank. The checking account rate also dipped from 3 to 2% as well. So I won't be moving any funds to that account either.

By the way, I heard on the radio about the earlier post on the Chase credit card $10 monthly fee. It seems that they are targeting those customers who got in on a promotional rate offer earlier and thought they were going to be paying a low rate indefinitely. So this is a new way to generate revenue for the bank for those people who can't pay off their balance. I wonder if this will be trend like the airlines which is now charging fees for just about anything on the plane? How about monthly fees on credit cards, ALL types of bank accounts, loans, etc. etc. $$$ Do you hear all those cash registers ringing inside the banker's heads?

Thanks for saying thanks about Imperial Capital Bank.

I gave them a lot of money when they created their special Savings II Account, offering 4% for a guaranteed period.

The Savings II Account went down to 2.5% APY today and will continue to drop, most likely to equal their iSavings Account rate, which is 1.85%, as I reported earlier.

I wrote a check to remove all my money from Imperial Capital Bank today. (I imagine many who signed up for the Savings II Account will do the same thing.)

Unfortunately, every bank will probably be paying under 3% APY eventually.

~O-Qua Tangin Wann

Check out Capital One $100 Bonus

http://www.hustlermoneyblog.com/capital-one-bank-100-bonus/

More rate drops, this time from ClearSky:

Savings rate drops from 3.15% to 3.05%

CD rates also down (19-mo term drops from 3.40% to 3.15%)

I agree.

In 3 months or less, there will be no savings account that pays over 3%.

Anyone thinking they will all go lower than 2%?

How low will it go?

Astoria Federal has a 1 Yr. CD at 3.05% branches in NY city mostly.
http://www.astoriafederal.com/html/common/rates.html

Banking Guy, have you posted anything on this:

http://www.doralbank.com/en/personal/doral-money-market.aspx

DoralBank.com Money Market paying 4.07% on balances over $100,000

Paying 3.75% for balances $75,000 to $99,999.

~O-Qua Tangin Wann

More info regarding Doral Bank:

Doral Bank is in Puerto Rico

Only one star rated at both Bauer Financial and BankRate.

The bank is FDIC insured.

The interest rate is phenomenal, but I do not know if a branch visit is required to open their high interest money market account.

~O-Qua Tangin Wann

The FAQ webpage for this bank stated the following regarding opening accounts.
"Where can I open an account?
You can visit any Doral Bank branches through the island. For your convenience, some of our branches are opened Saturdays and Sundays."

I am guessing that the "DIRECT" portion of the bank is for anyone to invest and that this account is for only people in Puerto Rico.

That is something that you have to be aware of regarding any bank that has a website. Just because they advertise on the Internet doesn't mean that they allow you to open accounts online. And not all banks have ACH transfer capability. Some banks will only allow you to do banking the way that brick and mortar banks are usually set up. Many do not have the desire nor the electronic backbone to handle internet banking transactions. Some do invest in this infrastructure (especially if they want to find customers nationwide), while others don't have to.

It's not quite 4.07%, but it's close. The internet unit of Doral Bank, Doral Bank Direct, is currently having a savings account promo (3.50% APY for 3mo) and a 3.50% 11mo CD. Here's the link to my review. The link is also at the top of the page.

To Anonymous, at 5:20 PM, February 08, 2009 in response to 8:39 AM, February 08, 2009 - Thanks for the money central link. It had some interesting info.

Astoria Federal CD's dropped. Most NY banks change their rates on Tuesdays - from what I've seen. Another NY Bank, Community National Bank on Long Island, http://www.cnbny.com/code/rates.aspstill has some decent long term rates:
2 Yr - 3.100/3.150; 3 Yr - 3.340/ 3.400; 4 Yr - 3.490/3.550; 5 Yr - 3.590/3.650. The penalty for an early withdrawal from your CD will be an amount equal to 90 days interest on the amount withdrawn.
Unfortunately, you have to go into the branch to open the CD. They have seven branches. If you live on Long Island, check it out.

What a difference a day makes (Astoria one yr. CD), I locked it on Monday and as you said, they lowered it today. Its good to know that they change rates on tuesdays.

US Bank who took over Downey Savings in Ca has a 4% rate for 59 months and a 2.25% rate for 13 month term.

$500 minimum and at least $500 of new money to open.

Can only be opened at a branch location.

The ad was in the San Jose Mercury News last Sunday.

Tech CU has a Lucky 7 certificate account for new members. It is for 12 months and the rate is 7% if you open a checking and direct deposit account with $600. The rate is 6.50% without these accounts.

The minimum and maximum is $1,000.

Not great with such a low amount but thought some might be interested.

One thing I'd like to point out, given all the mediocre 1 year yields, is that I-bonds held for 12-months are effectively at a ~2.96% APY (assuming 5ish% state tax), and that yield will be available until april. There's a limit of $10000 per SS#, but that's $20000 for a married couple, and even more if you can get the help of some relatives.

This could be a great backup plan if yields fall even more in the next months.

Southland Credit Union (in Southern California) has a good Reward Checking Account, called Super Checking, paying 4% APY for balances up to $50,000. (The rate is close to zero % for balances over $50,000.)

~O-Qua Tangin Wann

LoneStar CU
http://www.lonestarcuonline.org
Regular and IRA CD Terms and Rates
12 month CD 2.78% $500
24 month CD 3.60% $500
36 month CD 3.75% $500
48 month CD 3.85% $500
60 month CD 4.27% $500
24 month Bump Up CD 3.34% $500
36 month Bump Up CD 3.49% $500
48 month Bump Up CD 3.60% $500
60 month Bump Up CD 4.01% $500
12 month Jumbo CD 2.88% $90,000
24 month Jumbo CD 3.70% $90,000
36 month Jumbo CD 3.85% $90,000
48 month Jumbo CD 3.96% $90,000
60 month Jumbo CD 4.37% $90,000
24 month Jumbo Bump CD 3.44% $90,000
36 month Jumbo Bump Up CD 3.60% $90,000
48 month Jumbo Bump Up CD 3.70% $90,000
60 month Jumbo Bump Up CD 4.11% $90,000
you have to have a relationship status otherwise .25% lower

You are the Banking Guy I noticed that you have even been calling the various banks/Cu to confirm rate/eligibility I think I speak for all here =We thankyou Verymuch for supplying a place to come and discuss-find-compare various products to make some $$$$

To Anonymous who posted on 8:06 AM, February 11, 2009

If deflation takes hold, the I-bond rate could nosedive for 2009.


http://www.mymoneyblog.com/archives/2008/11/series-i-bonds-november-2008-fixed-rate-07.html

I have another cd coming due next week just wondering do I buy some MLP's paying 8%or better(risk)take Westerns 3.00%10m or Capital One 4.00% 4year I have CD's coming due every other month I just hate locking up for less than 5.00% what are your guys thoughts I would rather not mail money out of state at this time with all the failings Or maybe even take a bond for like 121 toll road or one of the schools they are paying about 6% ( plus tax free)???? so many choices just no easy way to make money Iam disabled and need this income to pay my meds and doctors Thanks to Banking Guy and everyone that responds

Very hard to find long term CD rates at 5% now. The best that I have found so far is the 4.39% APY 5 year CD at Pentagon Federal Credit Union. Municipal bonds are offering very attractive yields especially with the tax exempt status of the interest. If you do go that route, make sure that you can either hold it to maturity or sell it without a loss in the future.

https://www.penfed.org/productsandrates/checkingandsavings/moneymarketcertificates.asp

Update to my previous post. This website already listed a 5 year CD at 4.98% APY yield so it tops the Pentagon Federal rate.

http://www.nwfcu.org/rates/certificate.pdf

To Anonymous at 2:19PM Feb 11:

Oh, certainly--I'm assuming the next composite will be 0%. If you treat the I-bond as a 12-month CD, though, you forfeit the last three months interest anyway (of the 0% in this case). Thus, you'd get 5.64%APY for the first 6 months, and 0% for the last six. That comes to an effictive 2.93% (not 2.96) if state tax is 5%.

Dollar Savings Direct is dropping like a rock...down to 3.05% today.

To Anonymous who posted on 4:34 AM, February 12, 2009

2.93% interest for 1 year would not make me want to open the I-bond in the first place. Unfortunately, I bought some Savings Bonds before the November 2008 rate adjustment and those have the 0% base calculation amount. So if inflation is 0% for the next several years, I would get nothing for several years.

Dollar Savings Direct is going to remove the "America's Highest Rate" logo on their webpage. It will be getting very crowded at the bottom soon.

Edit to my post:

Dollar Savings Direct is going have to remove the "America's Highest Rate" logo on their webpage. It will be getting very crowded at the bottom soon.

Bank of Internet Savings rate is down to 3.00% (from 3.10%).

Applebank Grand Yield Direct down to 2.50 from 2.75%

Chesapeake Bank is forbidding deposits on all ClearSky accounts!

Important information from Clear Sky Accounts - Please Read:

When Chesapeake Bank opened our online-only banking arm – Clear Sky Accounts – last November, we saw an opportunity to provide the same level of high-quality service and banking products online that has been the hallmark of our bank for more than 100 years. While we expected that our savings and checking rates would be well-received by the banking public, we could not have predicted the tremendous response we have received to our offerings, in particular, the 3.75% annual percentage yield savings rate that we made available earlier this year and guaranteed through March 31, 2009.



To be frank, we have been overwhelmed by deposits, and while banks are in the business of accepting deposits from customers, our capacity for any more deposits has been reached. Regrettably, that means that not only will we not be opening any new accounts, but that existing depositors will not be able to make any additional deposits into their existing Clear Sky accounts.



We recognize that this decision will raise more than a few eyebrows, particularly at a time when financial institutions are under a great deal of scrutiny. But for more than a century, we have operated through sound banking principles (we did not solicit nor did we receive any of the federal TARP funds, for example). However, given the many millions of dollars that have been deposited over the past few weeks in Clear Sky, we are at capacity for online deposits. We regret that we had to take this action.



You no doubt have a number of questions, which we stand at the ready to answer (1-877-257-7594). Meanwhile, we want to assure you of the following:

* Your deposits are safe and are available to you at any time
* You are guaranteed the 3.75% annual percentage yield rate of return until March 31, 2009


We anticipate this to be a short-term situation. We look forward to earning your trust and continuing to serve your online banking needs.


Jeff Szyperski
President and CEO
Chesapeake Bank
www.chesbank.com



Clear Sky Accounts
from Chesapeake Bank
PO Box 1654
Williamsburg, VA 23187-1654
877-257-7594
www.clearskyaccounts.com

Member FDIC

New Frontier Bank in CO
E-Power Reward Checking account
Slashes rate from 4.62% to 1.25%

Credit Union 1 in Illinois (headquartered in Rantoul with locations in Chicago and other cities), http://www.creditunion1.org/, has some nice short-term rates, http://www.creditunion1.org/savings_rates.html. Available terms range from 6 to 60 months. They offer both regular and IRA certificates. For regular certificates in amounts of at least $1K but less than $10K, APYs range from 3.35% to 4.30%. Rates are higher for $10K and up, and for IRA certificates. For example, a 6 month $10K IRA certificate has a 3.55% APY.

Prepayment penalties are 90 days for 6 to 12 months; more for longer terms. I’m told Wednesday is their normal day for changing rates. Field of membership does not appear well defined, http://www.creditunion1.org/membership.html. They are part of the shared network; I learned of them when I had to make a deposit in Chicago for an out-of-state credit union.

Insurance carrier might be different from standard. I'll let others with more expertise comment on this.

Not too shocking since it's Friday...

http://www.fdic.gov/bank/individual/failed/sherman.html

Would be shocking if they didn't add a couple more for today...
http://www.fdic.gov/bank/individual/failed/banklist.html

Riverside Bank of the Gulf Coast, Cape Coral, FL failed today

Thanks for the info on Credit Union 1 in Illinois. Please note they are not federally insured. They only have private insurance via ASI.

Looks like it's no longer a question of if there's going to be a bank failure on a Friday, but how many. Two bank have already failed for today. I'm going to wait to see if there are any additional failures and do one post on all of the failures later tonight.

Banking Guy, you are smart to wait.

It is now 3 bank failures today, as I'm sure you will report tonight.

And to that poster who demanded that we all stop blogging and do something about it: What would he or she suggest we do? We are powerless to do anything about this except ride it out.

Stop blogging and do something about this crisis? This situation was built up over several years due to things done by the Fed, banks, investors, and consumers both here and abroad. I personally have had to deal with a family member who suffered a catastrophic auto injury since 2003, so all of what happened since that time is sort of a blur to me. The only thing that I do recall earlier before the term "subprime" came up was that I did notice that housing prices rose to over double from when I purchased my home in 1994. I kept saying to myself, who is jacking up these prices? The homes in my area are not worth that amount, even though living in an expensive neighborhood would be nice.

15-month CD, 3.5% APY at Amalgamated Bank

http://www.amalgamatedbank.com/

Although Redneck Bank is now famous on FW for their Reward Checking, they also offer Mega Money Market at 3.10%, which is a competitive online savings account these days. No branch visit, no minimum, and includes debit card. Typical limit of 6 withdrawals.

http://www.redneckbank.com
where bankin's funner

When I applied for either Doral's 3.5% 11 mo CD or 3.5% introductory rate, I popup states these are limited to the tre-state area: NY, VT, NJ

Mirae Bank advertised a 3.60% 6 month CD in the Chinese newspaper today. Minimum deposit is $10,000. Their web site, www.miraebank.com, hasn't been updated since December. Phone number to call is 626-435-0800 or 626-435-0803.

1stconstitutiondirect promo is now 3.25%. The bold red letters still say 3.5%, but the fine print says 3.25% in multiple locations.

Matthew, as of 1:20 p.m. today, you are absolutely wrong with your posting about 1st Constitution Direct.

The Website has always been that way, since they introduced their 3.5% special for their Super Savings.

If you sign up as of this minute, you would get 3.5% for 3 months and then 3.25% after, if you have the minimum balance required.

Now of course, come 90 days, that 3.25% most likely will have dropped.

But that Red 3.5% listing you referenced shows the special is still on as of this minute (subject to change at any time, of course...with that 3.5% being removed and/or changed when the change occurs).

Danvers Bank in MA has some nice online rates and was told available to all
3% APY online savings account $1 Min to open
and 3.30% 4 month CD $500 Min to open

https://www.danversbank.com/personal/personal_solutions/deposit_rates/

The Danvers online Savings rate of 3% has been in effect since September 22, 2008 which is a long time not to have changed. Quite a few banks had been offering rates that were unchanged for several months and have now proceeded to reduce their rates recently.

When we look rates at the small banks, we can see a trend developing.
The moment they reach their goal of funds, they start chasing the customers away by lowering the rates or putting restrictions on the amounts or some other stops.
The banks have so much money now, that our deposits are meaningless to them. So, don't expect great rates for a year or two, this is my prediction.

Chasing rates for pitiful one tenth of one percent is pathetic.
How low have we stooped. Opening and closing accounts just to make few extra bucks is meaningless waist of time. Reading or posting such rates is depressing. We cheer when we find a bank that offers one hundred of one percent better rate then the others, what is the point of that?

Imperial Capital Bank slightly lowered their rates yet again this morning. It truly looks like they will continue to drop their rates until they hit rock bottom.

Their highest tier for iSavings: 1.75% APY

Their highest tier for iMoney Market: 2.25% APY

~O-Qua Tangin Wann

northwest fed. c.u., 62 yr and over, apy for 100k 5yr cd, 5.25% rates will change tomorrow

To Anonymous at 7:57 a.m.:

What is pitiful is that you'd think there are people who rate chase for just one tenth of one percent.

No one does that.

We rate chase for a lot more than one tenth of one percent.

Two big banks offer savings accounts at 1% and below: WaMu/Chase and Wachovia/Wells Fargo. (I am using this as one example.)

There are a few banks left that are paying 3% or higher.

This is an example of rate chasing for a lot more money per year, which can add up if one has a substantial amount of cash to deposit.

Your thinking is so wrong here, based on your posting.

Stanford International Bank and high rate CDs
http://www.forbes.com/2009/02/17/allen-stanford-sec-business-billionaires_0217_stanford.html

1st Constitution Direct has lowered their Super Savings rate today:

The 3-month special lock-in rate is down to 3% APY from 3.5%, as you know.

The regular rate is down to 2.95% APY, down from 3.25% APY.

~O-Qua Tangin Wann

A lot of these so-called investment gurus who keep promising great returns every year will be a never ending scab on society. How do they get all of this money? From word of mouth from a friend who is a friend of a friend of a relative. All they have to do is put up a $$$ sign to get noticed. Psssst...I know someone who can get you 10% every year with no risk. Yeah right.

Taken from a 2/13/09 article.

"It is expected that, during these times of heightened market anxiety, the press would focus on covering what could be a potential scandal," Stanford wrote in his letter. "I want to assure you that if [regulators] find any areas in which we need to improve or modify our operations, we will take immediate action to correct them."

I guess they gave you five days to fix your problem and apparently it wasn't enough.

ING down to 1.85%. That is brutal.

1.85%....lol. See ya ING Direct!

NWFCU share CD rates have fallen since yesterday. Rates for add-on share CDs, though, have held steady.

Bank of Internet savings rate down to 2.80% (from 3.00%) and checking rate down to 1.40% (from 1.60%)

Flagstar money market is now 2.75% (not 3.00%)

"All of us are paying a price for this home mortgage crisis, and all of us will pay an even steeper price if we allow this crisis to continue to deepen,"

"Nationally, Moody's Economy.com says that of the nearly 52 million U.S. homeowners with mortgages, about 13.8 million, or nearly 27 percent, owe more than their homes are worth after many months of declining prices."

I paid off my mortgage last June. Boy, what perfect timing.

Well, I got 5 accounts with rates now at 1.85%, 2.2%, 2.25%, 2.5%, 2.82%, and 3.25%. I just deposited quite a bit of money into the 3.25% one, but wonder if it will stay at that rate.

The 3.25% rate just nosedived to 1.75% today. Time to move the money again.

The best thing is to find an institution that keeps their rates pretty steady rather than moving them downward weekly and causing one to move their money again. If you can find a savings/money market rate in the 2.50% to 3.00% interest rate range that keeps it there for a while you are doing well. I've been pretty happy with Provident-direct lately as they tend to keep their rates for a while and they are competitive at 2.82% APY. Now that I've posted that, I have probably jinxed myself and they will drop tomorrow.

To Anonymous at 4:19 p.m.: Keep us updated on where you put your 3.25% (dropped to 1.75%) money, and let us know how it goes. Just realize that they will all be dropping soon. (Plus, you should have specified which institution dropped you from 3.25 to 1.75% today.)

And to the poster above: Great advice, but unfortunately ALL the banks are dropping their rates, some little by little.

Check Patelco credit union. Great "under 21" (age) rate of 8% for first $1K and new member $1K CD of 7% for 12 mos.

LCEF.org has "emergency fund" at around 3%. At least $25 to open, at least $25 monthly deposit required. 12 checks/year at least $250 each. Rate adjusts monthly. Can close account anytime.

To Soft King Frustrated,

I forgot to mention the bank with the rate drop, but it was posted on the account review update on the bank rate list - it is H & R Block Bank. It was 3.25% yesterday and I then I sent a deposit today and it goes down immediately to 1.75%. They must not need any deposits now or got some of the TARP money. Funny, the same thing happened when I went to deposit some money to a Provident Direct account and the rate dropped the next day from 3.75 to 3.25%. I might better to just go to the local Wal-Mart and open a 1.5 or 2 year CD and get around 4% APY. But given my past luck, when I show up, they'll say "the rate changed and is now lower".

Thanks, Anonymous, at 11:31 p.m. (I cannot believe H & R Block had such a massive drop so soon.)

Now, it looks like only one bank, Broadway Federal, will be listed at over 3% in the next weekly summary (not including any special promotion rates).

Your idea of a 4% CD sounds great right now, if you can still get it.

Good luck!

wal-mart? 4% APY CD? more info, please.

Let me show you just how bad it has gotten.

ING Direct, once paying such high rates, is offering people 0.50% for their Electric Orange Account for balances between zero and $49,999.

I have closed my ING Direct Electric Orange Account. (I have also closed AARP Savings, Wachovia Money Market, WaMu Online Savings, Imperial Capital Bank accounts.)

schwab is beginning a new savings account at 2 % on Feb 26

Alliant has posted new (and lowered) CD rates today. Highest rate is now 4.00% APY for the 48-60 month jumbo. One year jumbo declined from 3.40% APY to 3.15%. Savings rate, which usually does not change until month end, remains at 3.00%.

hey - can we add a new specifically tracked category to this blog, please - addon cds?

In this market of falling rates, I want to capture a decent rate but as a saver I want to keep adding money

so what i want to know now but I don't have a way to research is - what are the highest rate paying add-on CDs out there?

To Anonymous who posted on 11:53 PM, February 18, 2009

Don't get your hopes up too high. The account are only open to Florida and Washington DC area residents. Also, the rate just dropped today to 3.5% for the 2 year CD. So it looks like I am making my money moves just as the bank drops its rates.

Here is the CD link if anyone is interested.

http://www.urbantrustbank.com/2772/mirror/p_rates.htm

Dudes & Dudettes.I opened a CD today 2/19 at Urban Trust 1yr@3.75%
While I was there they were on the phone getting new HIGHER rates on the longer term ones. Check the web site 2/20 for those.
They will only take branch visit sign ups but since we are on vacation in Florida it was a no brainer. Easy sign up and friendly!
See if a branch is near you north or south! ..... Woodenlisten

I have to update my own post earlier on 3:42 PM, February 19, 2009

The 1.5 year CD rate is 3.9% and the 2 year CD rate is 4.25%. I got the earlier message wrong. I was looking at the jumbo rate. I guess I shouldn't have put the other funds into H & R Block.

Perhaps I am thinking too hard about this and missing the simple answer...

What is the appeal of putting $$ into a CD at a credit union that you have to pay to join? I realize the rate is slightly higher, but you would have to invest a large sum to make that $$ back. Additionally, you will be taxed on the interest, thereby adding to the initial fee even harder to earn back.

Ex. I pay $15 to join a CU in order to gain access to their CDs. The rate of return has to be great enough to earn $15 more than I could earn on a CD at a non-CU on the same amount. On top of that, I am taxed on that additional $15, thereby meaning I really have not yet recouped my inital $15 "investment." If I am in the 25% tax bracket I would really need to earn $18.75 more before I could recognize any additional benefit.

If this is true, on a 12mo, $1,000 CD, I would need to earn an additional 1.875% to break even. Even with a $5 fee, the rate would need to be 0.625% higher to break even.

Am I correct? If I am, I can't see the benefits unless you can join for free or are planning a large deposit.

Note: I do realize that investing a larger amount will make that breakeven point easier to reach ($10,000 needs only a 0.1875% higher rate).

Bank of American Fork (www.bankaf.com/savesmart), a little unknown bank that has been around nearly 100 years is offering an online savings rate of 2.40% APY for most deposits and 2.60% APY for big money $250,000 or greater. I know there are some higher, but these guys are consistently high without the teaser rates. I have been impressed.

http://redneckbank.com/ has 5.25% APY rewards checking account.

Like many others, Emigrant Direct also dropped from 2.4% to 2.05% APY on 2/19. This had held since 1/23.

Emigrant Direct continues to have one star on Bankrate.com and two starts on BauerFinancial.com

Interestingly, the brick and mortar Emigrant locations have 2-3 stars at both Bankrate and BauerFinancial.

Chase sent me another coupon to open a WaMu account. This time it is $125 with direct deposit.

To Anonymous who posted on 7:38 AM, February 20, 2009

As with any type of account, you have to factor in the cost and interest rate differential of opening an account at that instituation versus another one. In many cases, you need to deposit a large sum of money in order to make up for the fees that you pay to get the account. This same kind of thinking would also apply to promotions being offered by a bank. For example, Provident Bank is offering $123 to open a checking account. Their interest rates on these accounts are well below 1%. If I deposited a large amount of money into this account, I would be missing out on earning much more in a rewards checking account at another bank.

To Anonymous who posted on 7:44 AM, February 20, 2009

Tbis bank requires a branch office visit which are located south of Salt Lake City. I have visited Salt Lake City several years ago, but I wouldn't go that far just to open an account for 2.4 or 2.6%

https://www.bankaf.com/Rates/Savings_CDs_and_IRAs/Default.aspx

The party's over at Urban Trust Bank, which slashed those attractive CD rates today. Everything under a 39-month term is at 2.80% or less.

I knew that was going to happen. Just as I am ready to pounce, they pull the rug out from under me. Had that done to me twice already. Guess it time to starting buying gold as it approaches $1000 an ounce? Not.

By MarketWatch
Last update: 9:35 p.m. EST Feb. 20, 2009

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Silver Falls Bank, of Silverton, Ore., was closed Friday by state regulators and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

The Feb 8th posting about the Alliance Bank failure,

http://bankdeals.blogspot.com/2009/02/8th-bank-failure-of-2009-alliance-bank.html,

has the FDIC saying CD deposits can be withdrawn without penalty, but what interest since the failure is included? Does "accrue and pay interest" mean until the day of withdrawal? Or after the next interest is credited in order to not lose interest? Or maybe only those who "renew the CD" get the interest since the failure. An email and a call to the FDIC were handled courteously but didn't result in an answer. Does anyone have further information?

DollarSavingsDirect savings account down to 2.65% apy from 3.05%

Dollar Savings just dropped it's savings rate to 2.65%. 16 mo CD remains at 3.0%

Not to great but for those interested
DallasMorningNews has ad for BofA at 2.50% for 10k or better in a Promotional money market savings guaranteed till June 30,09 where it will convert to a Growth money market savings Not sure if specific markets only or national here is link to ad
http://shopping.dallasnews.com/ROP/ads.aspx?advid=11389

These rate drops at Dollar Savings Direct just go to show how much savings have increased overall. More people are savings so the rates go down. I'm about to take a risk and become a Christian.

Does anyone know if Christian Community CU does a soft or hard credit pull?

www.triboro-fcu.org has acouple share certificate specials. They started 2/1/09.Don't know how long they will last. It seems credit unions are the place to be.
11 Month Share Certificate 3.15%APY
17 Month Share Certificate
3.25%APY
21 Month Share Certificate
3.30%APY
I'm still holding a 21 month Cert. that I bought from them in Oct.'07 that has a yield of 5.60%

To Anonymous, at 3:34 PM, February 20, 2009,

Did you read the posts? Interest rate differential...mentioned. Size of the contribution...mentioned. Do us a favor and read before you pontificate. Your reply had no value other than to stroke your own oversized ego.

http://www.centennialbank.com/centennial_variable.html

Savings Account paying 3.30% APY of $100K and over. Only 4 withdrawals allowed per month.

The end of the address above got cut off:

Let me try it without the http://www.

centennialbank.com/centennial_variable.html

Savings account paying 3.30% APY for their top tier, over $100K.

Thank you for posting about Centennial Bank, Oscar. When I read their online disclosure for the Variable Rate Tiered Savings Account and go to the section titled "Determination of Interest Rate," however, the blanks for the "margin" that determines the rate for each tier are left blank. I wonder why that is.

Another interesting item in the disclosure is that the "original" of the "Savings Account" must be presented to the bank to withdraw your funds (unless it chooses to waive the requirement). Sounds like the old days with passbooks and the like.

You're welcome.

What you are reading, concerning Centennial Bank, is a generic PDF file that was written a while ago, with the lines you referenced intentionally left blank because the rates vary and are subject to change. So the blank lines imply that you would fill in those lines with the correct figures based on what rates the bank is paying at that moment.

I have no doubt that since this bank is offering a good rate Banking Guy will contact them and then post detailed information.

I know the rate on Centennial Savings Account can change, Oscar, but my reading of the disclosure indicates that the rate is derived from the sum of the Index (where the Index is the greater of 3.00% or last month's 13-week T-bill auction rate) and the "margin," which differs for each tier. Now if they can change the margin for each tier at will by any amount they choose, then what is the point of saying that the rate is based on the Index? Am I missing something here?

A good example of an indexed rate was the old MBNA money market account for AAA members -- the rate was adjusted weekly and was 0.50% above the average 7-day yield of all general money market mutual funds, which was published weekly. You knew exactly what you'd get each coming week for as long as that account was in existence.

Bellco Credit Union in Colorado currently has a 4.05% 60 month CD. (https://www.bellco.org/Rates_CD.asp) This CU has occasionally had some good specials and innovative products. They currently still have their "Smart Move" CD which allows one addition and one withdrawal during the term of the CD, but those rates are not as good as they have been in the past.

US Bank has a 10 month CD at 2.50%
No other account required.
N Calif

To Anonymous who posted on 1:17 PM, February 22, 2009

In my response, I was agreeing with what you had posted earlier. I was just stating that you had to do the math in order to figure out if opening a particular account was worthwhile or not. The answer could be yes or no depending on the computations.

To Anonymous at 6:21 AM, 2/22/09:
I think that CCCU does a soft pull. In any case, why not call them? The number is 888-347-CCCU.

Just wanted to say thanks to banking guy for all your great posts and info. Your appreciated in these tough times.

dollarsavings has dropped
their 16 month rate.
colonial bank in clermont
florida has special cd
rates on offer.thanks to
all especially the bank guy.

Bank of Internest Savings down to 2.50% (from 2.80%) and Checking down to 1.30% (from 1.40%).

Northrop Grumman Federal Credit Union has a promo 15 month CD with attractive rates: 4.1157% APY for bonus ($40K min.), 3.8565% for regular ($2500 min). Yes, there's actually a 4% CD available for a reasonably short term!! I just opened it at one of their branches.

The deal is also good on IRAs as well. http://www.norgrumfcu.org/dep/dep_00.html#rates. Rate changes usually occur on Tuesdays; promo should be good for at least another week.

Penalty for early withdrawal would probably be 6 months. According to paperwork I received in the mail from an earlier CD: "If the term of the account is more than twelve (12) months, the penalty will be one hundred and eighty (180) days of dividends on the amount withdrawn... if the remaining balance is less than the required account minimum balance, after the withdrawal, the penalty will be on the entire account balance, and the remainder of the balance will be transferred to your regular share account."

Christian Community Credit Union just dropped rates on its Kingdom Builder CDs. Rates are now 3.50% APY for terms 7 to 18 months, 4.50%
APY for terms 48 to 60 months. No mention of 24 or 36 month CDs.

FNBO down to 2.40%.

Colonial Bank has new dropped rates on CD's the specials are
5 month 2.6%
11 month 2.75%
17 month 2.8%
Just called and gotem was'nt too sure how long they will be around
They have branches in TX,GA,FL,AL&NV (Mine is off I30atRIDGE Rd.Rockwall)

Clear Sky Savings at Chesapeake Bank rate dropped to 2.85% APY (from 3.05%).

Principal Bank has some competitive savings and money market account rates, although it appears they have a $50 fee for accounts closed within six months.

FYI-Clear sky bank dropped their savings rate to 2.85% from 3.05%

Schwab Bank High Yield Investor Savings. Is active as of today. You have to mail in the application or take it to your nearest Schwab Bank.

I tried to open the account over the phone as I already have the Brokerage+checking account. They said as it is the first day, they don't actually have the online application setup yet. The emailed me an application which is the same as the one on their website, except it isn't interactive. (Website one is interactive)

Sheila Bair, FDIC chairman, suggested more bank failures were likely in spite of government support for the banking industry. She warned that, given the pace of industry deterioration, proposed increases to the premiums banks pay for receiving deposit insurance may fall short of the insurance fund’s needs. “The outlook for bank failures has increased since we initially proposed making these changes last fall,” said Ms Bair.

Things could get dicey folks. For sure, do not exceed FDIC insurance limits in any institution. Hopefully we are still safe with FDIC insurance, but given Sheila Bair's comments, it makes one anxious none the less.

ADB Bank Money Market Account is 3%:

www bankadb.com/mmIndividual.aspx

It is official: There are no more savings/money market accounts at 4% or above. Broadway Fed lowered their savings account rate to 3.5% with a 3.56% APY.

How long until there are no more at 3% or higher?

One report I read predicted the bottom will be 2% (and that will be a small percentage of institutions).

I am going to try go to the local Wal-Mart and open the 3.5% Money Market account there soon. The smaller community banks have been slower to lower their rates, so hopefully, they won't drop theirs soon like they did with the CD rates earlier. Bank rates used to be affected by the Fed Prime rate and current T-bill rates, but those are very low now. Now rates are determined more by how much deposits and loans are at the bank.

To further Angelo_Frank's note, don't forget that the $250,000 FDIC/NCUA insurance ceiling is due to expire on 12.31.09. Keep that in mind when contemplating opening a cd that matures after that date.

GMAC Bank: 12-mo. CD rate increase to 2.95% (was 2.90%), money market down to 2.15% APY (from 2.25%). Savings account remains unchanged.

To Anonymous at 10:52 p.m. Feb 26:

There is no 3.5% Money Market Account at Wal-Mart. None. Zero. Nada.

But, if you are going to Wal-Mart anyway, pick me up a shotgun so I can shoot my computer screen so I won't have to look at all the never-ending plunging interest rates.

To Twyla,
I just checked the website and it still shows 3.5%. Did you contact the bank directly?

To Twyla,

Not all Wal-Mart offer the accounts. Only FL and MD have branch offices inside the stores.

Thanks for adding that the Wal-Mart 3.5% offer is only in two states. I appreciate it.

Of course I am not in one of those states.

Sad.

optionsXpress increases FDIC limits:

"Dear optionsXpress Customer

We are excited to tell you that beginning March 2, 2009, we will be increasing the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation's ("FDIC") insurance coverage to our optionsXpress FDIC Sweep customers. Total FDIC insurance coverage will increase to $2.5 million ($5 million for joint accounts). You do not need to do anything to receive the increased coverage and its absolutely free.

We will be increasing the amount of funds we place in each Bank on the Priority List from $98,500 to $246,500 ($493,000 for joint accounts) through December 31, 2009. On March 2, 2009 we will re-allocate your funds among the Banks on the Priority List to reflect the new deposit limit. We will notify you if the temporary increase in FDIC insurance is not extended. In that case, beginning on January 1, 2010, we will re-allocate your funds to the Banks on the Priority List to reflect the return to the $100,000 coverage limit for most insurable capacities."

"Declaring the decline in its insurance fund to be an emergency, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation board imposed an historic one-time $15 billion increase in insurance fees that will be collected from the nation’s banks."

The increase in rates the banks have to pay for FDIC insurance will naturally come out of the yields that they pay to depositers. Look for rates to come down even further based on this news.

I looked back at my records in early 2003. I was only receiving 1.46% interest on a bank MMA at that time. If this situation runs it's course, we may be strapped to find rates better than 1% on savings and MMA products.

Wal-Mart bank?
Are you referring to banks with branches in WalMart?

I found one that lists 3.5%

http://www.urbantrustbank.com/2772/mirror/p_rates.htm

Banco Popular is another one I know that has branches in WalMart, but I don't see 3.5% on their website.

Our local Wal-Mart has a First Convenience Bank in it's store. The money market yield if one deposits $50k+ is 1.10%. Wow.

UPDATE 2/27/9 on iGO...

iGObanking - is now 2.00%

(formerly 2.50% (was 2.81%)

Yet another rewards checking:

https://www.bankofasheville.com/ezchecking/

5.05% to 25k, 1.01% above. typical 10 debit, one direct deposit/auto debit & estatements. ATM refunds, etc.

Great interest checking rates are available at First Citizens Bank of Georgia - 4% APY for balances over $50K. Pretty incredible in this environment. I've been told the rate will not change until at least 4/1/09. 2 locations: Cumming and Dawsonville.
http://www.firstcitizensbankofga.com/index.php?page=rates

The 4% rate you referenced above at the Georgia bank is for a NOW account.

Does anyone know exactly what a NOW account is?

Digging back to the early 1980's, I believe that a NOW account is referred to as Negotiable Order of Withdrawal account. I sort of vaguely remember them as accounts with check writing capability, but they are not true checking accounts. I think that they were offered by Federal Savings Banks (not the regular banks) to have accounts that offered a checkbook. Before the 1980's, Federal Savings Banks did not have accounts where you can write checks.

Banco Popular appears to have branch offices located in Walmart stores in California. I thought Banco Popular is related to Emigrant Savings Bank (and Dollar Savings Direct)? If so, then I would think that rates would be comparable to those other banks, but, of course, some banks offer different rates in different markets.

You are correct about NOW accounts. I think now you can just refer to them as another name for a insured Money Market Account where you can do 6 withdrawals per month, 3 of them by check.

So, the big question now is if First Citizens Bank of Georgia will allow accounts to be set up from out of state. Bankrate gives First Citizens Bank of Georgia 3 stars.

The 3.5% Urban Bank with branches at Wal-Mart mentioned above states that branch visits are required to open an account and that maybe someday they will allow opening an account via mail or Internet.

~O-Qua Tangin Wann

Regarding the Banco Popular branches in Walmart stores--These are former branches of Quaker City Bank (Whittier, CA). Banco Popular purchased the Quaker City Bank and got these branches a few years ago. These Banco Popular branches are NOT related to Emigrant Bank at all. Banco Popular is headquartered out of Puerto Rico. Emigrant Bank is headquartered out of New York.

OC Steve

I looked up First Citizens Bank of Georgia at Bauer Financial and Bauer Financial doesn't give it any stars. It says "Start Up" where the stars should be.

Interesting that BankRate gives it 3 stars and Bauer gives it "Start Up." With Georgia having so many troubled banks, perhaps even if this bank allowed out-of-state customers, which it probably does not, people should think twice before opening up an account.

~O-Qua Tangin Wann

"The 3.5% Urban Bank with branches at Wal-Mart mentioned above states that branch visits are required to open an account and that maybe someday they will allow opening an account via mail or Internet."

Hopefully, that won't be soon because if that happens, then a flood of deposit money will force them to lower rates.

Alliant Credit Union High rate checking is now @ 2.75% was 3%.

Banking Guy, you don't need to call or email First Citizens Bank of Georgia to ask if their 4% APY Checking Account is available nationwide.

I emailed them and received a reply. The account is for local residents only.

On a different note: There has been a lot of media coverage this weekend on the FDIC announcing it is very low on funds and that the FDIC will be asking banks to pay more money into the fund. Opponents of the plan are warning that this could cause even more banks to fail since they will have to dish out more money.

I know Banking Guy has discussed this. I just thought I'd let everyone know that it is getting a lot of media coverage out West.

Banks cannot make big money off our deposits and will now have to pay more to the FDIC. No one cares that savers cannot make a decent interest rate anymore for Federally insured savings accounts. We all need to write our politicians.

~O-Qua Tangin Wann

First Entertainment Credit Union, which I discovered through this blog back when they had 6% CDs (oh, the good ol' days), has decent money market savings account rates, especially for $100k +. I find them nice to deal with, though a little inconvenient now that they've closed their only NY office.

http://firstent.org/rates_money_market.shtml

$2,500 min 1.45%
$25,000 min 2.50%
$100,000 min 3.00%

First, Infirm, of course I hope you are not infirm.

Second, thanks for reminding us about:
http://firstent.org/rates_money_market.shtml

Both First Entertainment CU and Alliant CU are great credit unions for people who live in the greater Los Angeles area. Right now, regarding the Savings Account, Alliant CU is better because they don't have the $100,000 balance requirement to get the 3% APY. But it is expected that Alliant CU will lower their Savings Account APY to 2.75% on April 1st. We don't know if First Entertainment will do the same.

Pentagon Federal Credit Union Share Certificate rates are now:

Term APY

6-Month 1.75%

1-Year 2.00%

2-Year 2.25%

3-Year 3.50%

4-Year 3.75%

5-Year 4.00%

7-Year 4.00%

I wonder if the debit card is green!

http://frogreward.com
3.01% on first 100k, 0.76% above.

Requires typical 10 debit, 1 dd/ach debit, and estatements.

They "prefer" you to come in branch to sign up (North Georgia area).

Everyone goes green.

Gwinnett Community Bank. http://www.EmeraldRewardsChecking.com
4.01% APY up to 25k, 1.01% over.

10 debit, 1 dd/auto ach, estatements.

No limit on number of accounts, but requirements must be met for each.
Apply online OR come in to a branch.

Wow these things are everywhere but that's fine, it's the only way to make a buck these days.

http://www.rewardscheckingbankofnewington.com

5.01% APY up to 25k, 1.01% over.

10 debit, 1 dd/auto ach, estatements.

Georgia/South Carolina area.

Southland Credit Union lowered their Super Checking rate from 4% to 3% APY.

~O-Qua Tangin Wann

Banking Guy, I'd love to see your comments about these developments, they sound kind of disturbing:

The National Credit Union Administration, which regulates U.S. credit unions, injected $1 billion into lenders in January to offset losses tied to asset-backed securities. The agency hired Pimco to determine whether more capital is required, Larry Fazio, the NCUA’s deputy executive director, said in a Jan. 29 interview.

On Feb. 27, a trade group of credit unions filed a Freedom of Information Act request seeking details from the NCUA on the Pimco contract. The group asked for specifics of Pimco’s analysis and how much it’s being paid, the Arlington, Virginia-based National Association of Federal Credit Unions said in a statement.

Graystone Bank in PA has a decent money market rate right now. Through May 31, I believe, it is 3.01%. You can open accounts online. Not sure of the fine print. www.graystonebank.com

Bank of America has been taking out big ads in the Chicago Tribune on CDs. The latest is on a 12 month CD featuring 2.75% APY. According to the tiny footnote, it's available in FL, IL, MI, IN, MA and NH. Requirements include $10K minimum balance and a checking account or Premier or Private Bank relationship.

By standards of the readers here, the rate is not spectacular. However, the fact that B of A is trying to be competitive on CDs is of interest. Park National Bank, which reportedly has 30 Chicago area branches, has long been advertising a 2.75% APY 12 month CD ($1K minimum), http://www.parknatl.com/rates/. Another local, Midwest Bank, is promoting an 11 month CD at 2.75% APY ($10K minimum), http://www.midwestbank.com/assets/pdf/CookieCDAd.pdf.

i see bofa has a 2.3% APY "Promotional MMS" rate in the LA times today. a5. 10k min, rate guarantee till 6/30. requires prima checking account or premier or higher relationship. appears to state for California only. not bad as it's better than a 3 month CD, but the prima / premier requirement may make it a pain.

Another one bites the dust: NWFCU's formerly sweet add-on CDs drop to 2.72% (2 yrs) and 2.44% (1 yr).

ING Direct Orange Savings down to 1.65% APY (from 1.85%).

DollarSavingsDirect also dropped to 2.5% from 2.65% today.

It's unfortunate that instead of finding deals, we're reporting on decreasing deals. But, that's the phase of the economy right now.

Another reward account:

Bank of Perry (central Georgia)

http://www.bop1889.com/personal_checking.asp

3.51% APY on 25k, 1.01% over

12 debit, 1 dd/ach debit, estatements.

2.50% APY RISK FREE 9 MONTH CD AT BANK OF AMERICA

Can withdraw anytime without penalty.
2.25% + 0.25% BONUS if you open with $10,000 or more in funds not currently on deposit at Bank of America

Anyone know about Danversbank?

Spivey State Bank (Swainsboro Georgia):"Free Reward Checking"

http://www.spiveybank.com/personal_checking.asp

Per CSR email, current rate is 3.01% up to 25k.
12 debit, 1 dd/auto ach, estatements.

Danvers Bank appears to have a 4 star rating on Bankrate.com
Their online savings account is currently offering a 3% rate.

https://www.danversbank.com/ask_kevin/details.asp?id=25

Christian Community Credit Union dropped rates again on its Kingdom Builder CDs, now 3.00% APY for 7 to 18 months and 4.00% APY for 48 to 60 months. Money market rates also dropped to 1.50% (1.90% for 25K+).

New Chase $125 bonus

https://www.chase.com/ccp/index.jsp?pg_name=ccpmapp/shared/marketing/page/87288_Checking_Offer&ID=0000009003&WT.ac=DSO9003_retail_banner

Bank of Internet Savings rate down to 2.00% (from 2.50%).

Hanmi Bank (california) is no longer offering the "Freedon CD Plus".

Another rewards checking in Atlanta, Georgia

http://www.brookhavenbank.com/e_checking.html

4.51% to 50k, 1.25% over.
10 debit, 1 ach/autodebit, estatements.

Hanmi Financial Corp. Responds to Erroneous Media Report
Thursday March 5, 6:04 pm ET

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Hanmi Financial Corporation (Nasdaq: HAFC - News), the holding company of Hanmi Bank, announced that an article in the March 2, 2009 edition of the Los Angeles Business Journal incorrectly stated that Hanmi Financial Corp. had in recent months received a cease-and-desist order.

ADVERTISEMENT
The Los Angeles Business Journal's report is completely and unequivocally false. "Our customers and shareholders, whose support we value, should know that we have received no such order from regulators," said Jay S. Yoo, Hanmi's president and CEO.

"To be sure," added Mr. Yoo, "the slowing economy presents a variety of challenges that are affecting the operations of virtually all financial institutions. However, they are challenges that Hanmi is, we believe, well prepared to meet."

banking guy,
i posted the hanmi artice.
can you explain what a cease and desist letter to a bank means? i know they denied the papers reporting but their stock is now about 77cents and I have a CD with them. Thank you.

A small community bank in my area got a cease and desist order late last year. It got eventually bought out by another bank. I believe that One United Bank also got a cease and desist order from Federal regulators a few months ago because of the toxic loans that were on their books and their capital reserves had dropped to an unacceptable level. Of course, no mention of this is noted on the bank's website.

I would be wary of banks headquartered in California, Arizona, Nevada, and Florida which are epicenter regions of the subprime fallout.

GMAC Online Savings down to 2.65% (from 2.75%).

ProvidentDirect lowered their savings rate to 2.10% APY from 2.82% APY.

Justice Federal Credit Union has been offering 5.5% APY on a CD, called their "Grow With Me Account" promotion. The CD must be opened in the name of a minor, and the amount must be between $500 and $10,000. After the first year, the APY goes down to the Federal Funds Target rate plus 1%. The CD matures when the minor turns 18 and converts into a checking account; interest is forfeited if withdrawn early. This promotion works best for someone who has a 16 or 17 year old family member.

Re Regal Bank's 4.0% 12-month CD special that is to expire on March 15: the CSR tells me that as of this past Monday, March 2, the special is being restricted to only people living in Washington state. No more out of staters will be given this rate.

http://www.regalfinancialbank.com/deposit/mvp-cd.html

HSBC Direct Savings down to 1.85.
Their online payment account is still at 1.75%. I guess that'll be dropping soon.

Effective May 2009, pending regulatory approval, Provident Bank will become part of M&T Bank.

Freedom Bank of Georgia (in Commerce GA, just 56 miles from Alpharetta) bit the dust today.

Redneck Bank still posting 3.10% APY for their money market account on the web site.

You wonder if Provident Bank will become a subsidiary of M & T Bank or be actually absorbed by it? The current rate for the M & T e-Money Market account is 1.01% and the online division of M & T Bank, NA (Onbank) rate is 1.3%. Both of those two banks are chartered separately, so the FDIC coverage does not overlap. If Provident Bank retains its separate charter, then I guess their rates will not be the same as the other two bank divisions.

With the downward trend in rates, the rate differential between banks is shrinking rapidly. Of the 8 banks that I have accounts with, the rates are 1.65, 1.75, 1.75, 2.1, 2.15, 2.2, 2.25, and 2.27%. So doing the funds shifting strategy is becoming less worthwhile now.

Savings Rates have dropped at First Entertainment Credit Union:

First Entertainment Credit Union Money Market Account Rates
Effective: March 7, 2009
Minimum Opening Balance APY

Money Market Savings $2,500 1.20%

Premier Money Market Savings $25,000 2.25%

Titanium Money Market Savings $100,000 2.70%

~O-Qua Tangin Wann

4.75% interest rate for 1 year, then will adjust. If over 62 you can take the money and run or move to another high interest rate choice. Email me at "mryanfla@gmail.com" to receive our weekly note and we'll let you know when we have our new site up...

Mike, with guys like Madoof and the guy behind Sterling Bank, one might think your comment above is an invitation to a Ponzi Scheme.

I am not saying your spam comment above is a Ponzi Scheme, as I don't know you.

Christian Financial CU http://www.christianfinancialcu.com/asp/rates.asp

Save To Win Certificate ($100K Grand Prize)
(Additional deposits can be made throughout the term of the certificate. Maximum number of Save Two Win certificates is limited to ONE per Social Security Number. See disclosures for specific Save To Win CD details.)
$25.00 min. 1.490%/1.500%

12 month Super Saver Share Certificates (Additional deposits during term limited to $50,000.00. Maximum number of Super Saver Certificates is limited to TWO per Social Security Number.) $500.00 min. 1.8840%/1.900%

On Friday, March 6bankdeals.blogspot.com was noted in no less than the "The Wall Street Journal" in an article by Aaron Zweig entitled "Tempest-Tossed? Take Some Control."

The article was posted on-line at http://finance.yahoo.com and this blog is mentioned near the end of the article.

4.75% for one year? That's great. I locked in on a 2 year CD at 4.51% back in January. GMAC Demand Notes are offering 4% right now. So your underwriting institution must be in more desperate need of money than GM?

Citibank is promoting a 12-month CD at 2.70% APY in IL. That rate is higher than what they've got available on the web but is on par with advertised rates regionally. Citibank has ad in today's Chicago Tribune. I've also seen window card at local branch. Here are particulars: $500 min. bal., checking account required, effective as of 3/3/09.

Paragon FCU 6% 9mo CD. $2000 max.
http://www.paragonfcu.org/ilovemycu/
Haven't tried this CD but have used the FCU and had no problems.

Paragon FCU 6% 9mo CD. $2000 max.
http://www.paragonfcu.org/ilovemycu/
Haven't tried this CD but have used the FCU and had no problems.

Valley Credit Union has a 3.10% 24-month CD until 3/24. They also have 3.20% on balances of $100K+.

Schwab Investor Savings. I opened the account, I see it in my list. I can't transfer funds to it from either my checking nor my brokerage. I can't even click on the account to see more information. It has a notice that says Savings Account Servicing. It's been like that all last week, so I called them today and the CSR said you cannot interact with the savings account online till May. You can only see the balance, and you have to mail in deposits.
They should have probably waited to launch their savings account.

Hey Banking Guy,

Great site, thanks for all the great info! Upon your recommendation I bought an IBond last April, and I'm curious as to whether it is worth keeping it longer, and for how long. The new inflation numbers come out next month, right? Would we still receive 6 months past April at today's high rates since we bought in April, or will it revert to the small expected deflationary amounts that are expected?

I bought some I-bonds in late October with the guaranteed 0% base interest rate. So, these bonds will only receive the inflation adjusted rate every 6 months whatever that happens to be. It is set to readjust in May, so it will be interesting to see what the specified inflation rate will be at that time. Of course, if it is determined to be a deflationary cycle, I might get nothing for the next 6 months (just like next to nothing amounts that the 3 month Treasury bill purchasers are getting now).

From an American Bankers Assoc. (ABA) member email --

ABA learned yesterday that USA Today has dropped plans to publish a list of 50 problem banks based on the so-called Texas Ratio. ABA Chief Economist Jim Chessen and senior economist Keith Leggett last month had cautioned the reporter working on the story about the statistical pitfalls involved, and the correct way to use and calculate bank data. ABA President and CEO Ed Yingling also sent a letter on Feb. 13, urging the paper’s executive editor to drop the story because it could be dangerous and misleading.

Meanwhile, ABA also learned that MSNBC.com plans to run a Texas Ratio list on all 8,300 U.S. banks, with an accompanying story, Thursday or Friday. ABA emphasized to MSNBC.com that such a list lacks context and perspective, and Chessen and Leggett yesterday explained to the reporter that one indicator is not sufficient to determine an institution’s health. ABA will continue to work to discourage the story, and has developed talking points to help bankers field any inquiries on the Texas Ratio that it may spur.

I just renewed a CD with Bank of America. I called yesterday, and they quoted an APY of 2.22% for both their 9-month "risk-free" or 12-month ("risky"?) CDs. As it happened, I had called after the CD department had closed for the day. When I called back today, the APY was 2.50% for both. I'm not sure if that had to do with the .25% bump you get from being over $10k, or if the rates changed overnight.

FNBO Online Savings down to 2.15%

FYI...FNBO just dropped its rate from 2.40% to 2.15%

NWFCU Add-On CD rates dropped again (rates are updated on Tuesdays). These were posted on their website today, 3/10/09:

Youth Add-On Certificate
Term: 1 Year
Rate: 2.04% (was 2.42% on 3/3/09)
APY: 2.06% (was 2.44% on 3/3/09)

1 Year Add-On Certificate
Term: 1 Year
Rate: 2.04% (was 2.42% on 3/3/09)
APY: 2.06% (was 2.44% on 3/3/09)

2 Year Add-On Certificate
Term: 1 Year
Rate: 2.36 (was 2.69% on 3/3/09)
APY: 2.38% (was 2.72% on 3/3/09)

Broadway Federal Bank just dropped its Online Anniversary Savings account rate from 3.56 APY to 3.05 APY.

http://www.broadwayfederalbank.com/

The CD rates currently offered by banks and credit unions are very low and I fault our government for giving away money to the banks. They say the spreads between what they have to pay for money to lend and what they are charging those they are lending to are great and haven't been this way for quite a while. --- Who is paying the price for this? The savers, particularly retired or those nearing retirement, are paying dearly for those who lived beyond their means and for financial institutions that gambled away their capital.

I refuse to go into any CD long term. I would like to see bloggers report more deals like when a new bank is opening and offering a higher than normal rate on a CD -- also it may be time to learn how to use one of those reward checking accounts. After all, even 4.00% with your money readily available beats out less than 3% for a 1 year CD--and who knows perhaps some better deals will come along. In my opinion, these low rates discourage people from investing in any long-term CD, at least for myself, this is true.

just noticed this morning that Hanmi Bank Internet Savings AND Internet CD rates have dropped to 1.76%. FYI ...

With Broadway lowering their rate to 3.05%, it's just a matter of time before all rates are in the two's and one's (or lower) when it come to interest rates.

We are all ****ed, and will be for quite some time.

We should all just get mentally prepared to make hardly any interest for a long while.

I received an e-mail from
E-LOAN this morning which is quite interesting:

Recently, many customers have been asking to close their existing E-LOAN Certificates of Deposit (CDs) early. Our customers note they need access to these funds due to financial hardship or for paying off debt.
We’ve listened to our customers and come up with a unique offer.

For the entire month of March 2009, E-LOAN will waive its Early Withdrawal Penalty if you close your CD early. For many of our customers this could mean substantial savings in penalties normally associated with early account closure.

If you would like to continue maintaining your CD with us, please rest assured your funds are safe and will earn the regularly scheduled interest for the existing term. However, if you would like to access your money early, please adhere to the following two guidelines:
(1) In order to close your CD with no penalty you must log in to your account and send us a secure message asking us to close your account without penalty. Requests received by Wednesday each week will be processed by the following Friday. Funds will be received in your externally linked account the following week.
(2) Your account will be closed and funds returned to your externally linked account, which must still be open, valid and verified in order for the funds to be returned.

Is this a means of getting rid of CD depositors that are getting a high rate of return or are they really sympathetic to some people's plight?

I have an E-LOAN CD with a 5.50% APY that matures in mid 2012. I'm sure not going to close that account.

even 4.00% with your money readily available beats out less than 3% for a 1 year CD

That's great right up to the moment when your bank readjusts the reward checking rate downward.

regarding Melrose Credit Union- If you are lucky enough to get an email address for Antony Arturo then he will email you when your cd has been opened if you ask him to do so.
s

"I have an E-LOAN CD with a 5.50% APY that matures in mid 2012. I'm sure not going to close that account."

For most people, it would obviously not be financially advantageous to cash out when interest rates are dropping now. However, when the sheriff is at the door ready to evict you, or the repo man is ready to impound your vehicle, or when the utility companies threaten to cut off your water, gas, electricity, and phone service, or if you were one of the lucky ones getting a recent pink slip, then this option will definitely be worth considering in your situation.

OH MY GOD!

Redneck Bank has just changed their Mega Money Market Account:

The 3.10% APY is now only good up to $35,000. If you have more than $35,000 you will only get 1.65%.

Oh...the humanity!

Can you believe this bull****?

We are so ****ed.

All America Bank in Oklahoma has lowered the maximum balance to get 5.25% on their Ultimate Rewards Checking. The new maximum is now $10,000. Effective April 15, 2009.

New Chase Business $200 Bonus

http://www.hustlermoneyblog.com/chase-200-business-checking/

"Free Rewards Checking" at Farmers Bank, Forsyth Georgia

Pays 4.01%/25k, 1.01% over

Requires 12 debit, 1 dd/ach debit, estatements.

http://www.farmersbank.net/personal_checking.asp

"Performance Plus Checking" at eHeritage Bank (central GA, north FL)

Pays 3.50% up to 25k, .51% over. Free first order of checks

Requires 12 debit, 1 dd/auto debit, estatemetns

http://www.eheritagebank.com/site/personal_checking.html#performance

"Reward Checking" (eh, not the most creative) at First Effingham Bank (Coastal Georgia)

Pays 3.51%/50k, 1.00% over.

Requires 10 debit, 1 dd/auto ach, estatements.

http://www.firsteffingham.com/personal/rewardChecking.asp

All of a sudden that horse in Redneck Bank doesn't look so funny anymore....

GMAC Bank online savings account down to 2.50%

At HSBC Direct, we are committed to letting you know when your Online Payment Account rate changes. Recognizing the current interest rate environment, your Online Payment Account rate has been adjusted to 1.00% APY** as of March 12, 2009.

Beggers can't choosers of course, but it would be nice to be able to get RSS feeds for individual "tags". Most importantly state tags, so I can get an immediate alert when there is a local deal in my state. If you don't have time to set up a lot of them, just look at which state tags get the most hits and start with those :) Just a suggestion :)

"GMAC Bank online savings account down to 2.50%"
By Anonymous, at 5:24 AM, March 13, 2009

Their Money Market Savings account is down to 2.00% APY also.

It's now called the "slow drip to zero" effect. It will be just a matter of time when you will receive zilch for depositing your cash in an institution. With the run-up in the stock market there will be a number of people that will be buying equities now hoping for a decent return regardless of the risk.

It's a shame, Mom and Pop Saver will probably buy some front-loaded mutual funds, that pay a yield higher than their savings account pays, then find out their principal tumbles later. It's the same old story and it's going to occur again and again.

Meanwhile, back to finding some decent CD yields to lock-in before it's too late.

First Trade Union High & Mighty Savings rate down to 3.04% ($2.5k+)

Clark County Credit Union is offering a 60 month 4.074% CD (min %75,000, 3.557% otherwise). Anyone who joins the local public radio station (min $40 contribution) is eligible to join this credit union.

3 mo CD, 3.0% APY, FDIC, min $25k, max $250k

http://www.tdameritrade.com/offer/cd.html?a=UHI&DFAID=1

Christian FCU easy join. http://www.christianfinancialcu.com/asp/rates.asp
Has 2 low paying add-on certificates.
Also has good rates on 3Y - 2.5%, 4Y - 3.1% and 5Y - 3.5%

ETrade Savings rate down to 1.70%.

Be careful about the fees at Christian FCU. They charge you not only a fee to open but also a setup fee, plus another $5 deposit for the minimum in the share savings. THEY ALSO CHARGE YOUR A FEE TO CLOSE your membership!

And if you close a CD during the grace period, you will get no interest on it during that period - although I specifically asked about that before opening and they told me that I would get interest during the grace period even if I closed it.

citibank is advertising a 2.60% 12 month CD in the NY area. Must have or open a checking account.

Triad Bank 12 month cd @3.05% St Louis 314-993-4333. min $10K. not sure if available natl or not

Citizens Bank has a decent Select Money Market for large balances, 2.5% for > 50K, http://www.citizensbank.com/pf/savings/select_mm.aspx

The wrong rate is listed for One United Savings. The rate is 2.25%. 2.75% is for the CD only. Please see https://www.oneunited.com/ConsumerBanking/TodaysRates.asp

Credit unions are having a rough time along with banks:

http://www.kansascity.com/746/story/1086932.html

I pass six WaMu's on my way to work. Just noticed two of them have renamed themselves to Chase. Just wondering if you think they'll all rename to Chase?

Dear DataIsGold,

The "WaMu" name is poison, since it represents the biggest bank failure of all time.

Chase intends to rename every single WaMu branch it decides to keep open. Chase intends to fully eliminate the WaMu name.

In certain areas where there are overlapping Chase & WaMu branches, some of those branches may be closed.

Citi is also doing the 2.6% 12 month CD here in the DC area (MD/VA/DC) market, in branch only. They've been running ads in the local newspapers. Requires checking account.

The Sky is falling! Not literally, but the rate on Chesapeake Bank's Clear Sky Savings account dropped yet again, to 2.5% (from 2.85%).

Regarding the soundness of Charter Bank, my mortgage was sold to them by my local bank soon after I took it out. Have no fear, I won't default, so Charter should be safe. A little humor wouldn't hurt as we watch deposit rates deteriorate daily down to the mattress level.

Applied for Bank2 reward checking account last Wednesday. How long did the approval process take for those who've already opened one? Thanks

A Wall St. Journal article on advantages of credit unions over banks, http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123708535764231521.html ("Safe Havens: Credit Unions Earn Some Interest").

Connexus CU is great! Just wanted to say 'Thank you' Banking Guy for mentioning them. I just opened the 11 month CD spedial @ 3.00%. It was easy to do. The phone Customer Support people were great. It was a pleasure. Their checking interest rates are good too, but they involve a certain number of transactions and transfers per month which I'm not interested in doing. But if someone doesn't mind that, it seems to be worth it. Thanks again.

Deposit capacity at America's Credit Union has changed effective 3/3/09 on their Flex and Super Bump Flex CD's. Their Truth in Savings disclosure now reads like this:

TRUTH-IN-SAVINGS CERTIFICATE ACCOUNT DISCLOSURES
1. Rate Information. The Annual Percentage Yield is a percentage rate that reflects the total amount of dividends to be paid on an account based on the Dividend Rate and frequency of compounding for an annual period. For all share certificate accounts, the Dividend Rate and Annual Percentage Yield are fixed and will be in effect for the term of the account. The Annual Percentage Yield is based on an assumption that dividends will remain on deposit until maturity. A withdrawal of dividends will reduce the Annual Percentage Yield.
a. Flex Certificates. You may make deposits of at least $100 at any time during the term of your Flex Certificate provided the principal balance does not exceed twice your Original Principal Balance or $100,000 whichever amount is less.
(i). Bump-Rate Feature. With a Flex Certificate, you have the option of changing the interest rate once, at any time during your initial and subsequent renewal terms, to the Credit Union's then-current dividend rate with a like term. Once you use this bump-rate option, the then-current dividend rate will be the rate on your account until maturity. Your Annual Percentage Yield will change accordingly if you exercise this option.
b. Super Bump Flex Certificates. Same great benefits as a Flex Certificate, but offers unlimited "bumps." This means that you can contact the Credit Union and have your rate increased to the current published rate for a like term as market rates rise during initial and subsequent renewal terms. You may make deposits of at least $100 at any time during the term of your Flex Certificate provided the principal balance does not exceed twice your Original Principal Balance or $100,000 whichever amount is less.

So, the bottom line is this, if you opened your promotional CD's in September or October for 13 or 24 months with the $500.00 minimum and wanted to grow your money at YOUR convenience, you are simply out of luck. Now you can only add an additional $1000.00 which is twice the initial investment.

I spoke to a manager at ACU and they are not making exceptions at this time to this rule.

Thought you should know.

Dollar Savings down again to 2.05% apy. Seems like every 4-5 days they are lowering their rates. Might be time to exist.

Capital One's online banking site has been down most of the day and they have no estimated time when coming back up. One would encounter that infrequently with smaller institutions, but Capital One? So much for their IT department.

falcon bank(texas) has
reduced high yield checking
to 3% and requires 15 debit
card transactions.

Dollar Savings Directs APY is now 2.05%. I think its time to drop the "America's highest Rate" slogan.

I'm thinking Smarty Pig with their 3.25% APY is one of the only truly high yielding savings accounts.

Anon @ 9:49A 3/17/2009:

Where are you getting this information about America's FCU's Add-on CDs? I have not received a notification with a change of terms. Have you?

Corus Bank warns of possible failure,
http://www.suntimes.com/business/1482628,CST-FIN-corus18.article (“Corus bank warns of $317 million loss, possible failure”).

Christian Community Credit Union's Kingdom Builders CDs rate drop: now 2.50% for terms of 7 to 18 months and 3.50% for 48 month term only.

1st Constitution Bank Direct rate special has been lowered slightly to 2.95% with the three-month guarantee, with the regular rate being lowered to 2.5%.

~O-Qua Tangin Wann

New Century Bank is advertising a 2.80% APY 10 month CD. According to the Chicago Tribune ad, the rate is effective 3/10/09. Minimum to open is $25K, maximum allowed is $99,999. The bank has three locations: 2 in Chicago, 1 in Lincolnwood. Here's web site, http://www.newcenturybk.com/index.html, though I could find no mention of promo in it.

Corus Bank appears to have $1.38 billion in loans for South Florida condos. That is one of those areas in the US that got really big on the real estate bubble. It's sort of odd that a bank in the Chicago area would be lending out so much to an area so far away. But money $$$ talks and nobody walks.

http://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida/stories/2009/02/16/daily50.html

I found this online article on Corus Bank from 2007 that indicated a possible serious problem with their South Florida loans.

http://www.miamicondoinvestments.com/2007/09/10/corus-bank-one-of-the-many-publicly-owned-real-estate-related-companies-to-see-trouble-ahead/

Corus Bank has been focused on development loans. They do no residential stuff but have exposure in areas where there has been alot of condo development -- including CA, FL, NV, etc. -- not limited to IL.

united heritage federal
credit union in austin
tx will again be offering
reward checking beginning
april 1.the new rate
will be 4% with 10 debit
card transactions.$25000
maximum at 4% but members
can open up to 3 accounts.

FDIC announced the sale of IndyMac Bank today. 33 branches of IndyMac will open as OneWest Bank tomorrow. OneWest is a new bank just created by IMB Holdco LLC.

~O-Qua Tangin Wann

Does anyone know whether OneWest Bank will honor the rate on IndyMac Federal Savings Bank's issued CDs through maturity?

ADB Bank (Allegiance Direct) Money Market rate down to 2.50% (from 3.00%)

Umbrella Bank Money Market rate down to 2.12%-2.50% (from 2.15% -2.60%)

Big rate drop at Onbank. Down to .75%.

Capital One Savings - $50 Bonus

Hey Peeps! I didn't see this bonus opportunity posted yet - but Capital One appears to be offering a 2.01% APY with a $50 bonus for first time customers who deposit $10,000.

You must open the account by April 15, 2009 and deposit at least $10,000 by 05/08/2009. Must use OFFER50 when opening account to qualify for bonus.

http://www.capitalone.com/directbanking/lp/online-savings-account/incentive0409.php

Thanks for all you do! I check this site at least weekly for my updates.

BG: "There are no branches in..."

text + text - text = text

Bad News! NCUA placed US Central and Wescorp in conservatorship today.

Fed Gov't seizes 2 largest Corporate Credit Unions in U>S> Fri PM

Teambank, Colorado National Bank and FirstCity Bank have been closed by FDIC today.

3 more banks failed today, including one where the FDIC will be mailing checks out to depositors on Monday.

I am not elaborating more since Banking Guy will be posting all the details shortly.

One note regarding the bank where the FDIC will just be mailing out money: They will only be mailing out the $250K insured money on Monday. If the account is over $250K, the FDIC is asking people to call them to discuss the accounts. So you see, if one goes over $250K there will always be a delay while the account has to be checked out.

Re: Credit Unions siezed.

Credit union officials say there is no reason for members to fear for their deposits. Individual accounts are insured by the government for up to $250,000. Military credit unions contacted said they don’t even expect the bailout tax to force them to lower member interest rates paid on savings accounts or to raise interest charges for loans or mortgages.

However, other customer services could be affected. That might include, said one official, a smaller workforce to run customer call centers or delays in opening new branches or renovating old ones. Some credit union officers clearly were upset at the NCUA board for deciding on a bailout plan for U.S. Central before discussing alternatives with them.

1st Financial Federal Credit Union, a full service financial institution located in St. Louis, St. Charles, Hazelwood, and Wentzville, Missouri has a
Free High Yield Rewards Checking that includes:

5.01% APY on balances up to $25,000
Free ATM Fee Refunds Nationwide**
No minimum balance requirements
No monthly service charges
No per-check fees
Free VISA Check Card
Free Internet Banking with netbr@nch
Unlimited check writing
Free E-statements
Free ATM transactions at any CO-OP ATM nationwide
Automatic overdraft protection from your savings account or line of credit

To earn the reward rate of 5.01% APY on balances up to $25,000 and 1.00% APY on average daily balances above $25,000 the following criteria must be met per cycle†:

Enroll and receive electronic statements
One direct deposit or one ACH (electronic) credit/debit to account
Twelve check card transactions (ATM transactions not included)
Access your account with netbr@nch (online banking)
*5.01% APY (Annual Percentage Yield) paid on average daily balances between one penny and $25,000, and 1.00% APY paid on all amounts above $25,000 each cycle the minimum requirements are met. If you do not meet the minimum requirements during the monthly qualification cycle your account will still function as a FREE checking account earning .25% APY; however, you will not receive ATM refunds for that time period. Rates as of December 1, 2008. No minimum balance required. Available on personal accounts only. No monthly service charge.

**ATM fees refunded up to $25 per cycle when account requirements are met.

†Qualification cycle refers to the last day of one month through the second to last business day of the following month.

1Automatic overdraft protection - Funds are taken from your savings account if available. You may also apply for a line of credit to protect you from those times when you may need additional funds for your checking account needs. There is a $2.00 fee each time funds are automatically transferred from your savings account to checking account to cover overdrafts.

High Yield Rewards Checking subject to change without notice

Imperial Capital Bank still has ok rate on their "Savings II" account. 2.4% APY, 1k min, all benefits like their normal savings account, but a higher rate. not posted on site, but i went in to close my CD and move to my existing SII account and discovered the rate is listed on their rate sheet in-branch, at least in San Francisco.

Dollar Savings Direct held my deposit ($5000) for an extra 5 business days beyond the 2-3 days it takes for an ACH deposit. I've had this account since last Oct. making large deposits. This is the first time they've held a deposit.

When I called to inquire why they were holding my deposit they said they were legally allowed to and it stated so in the disclosure agreement.

See you later DDS!! You don't get my business anymore.

To Anonymous at 12:52 p.m. regarding Imperial Capital Bank:

I assure you 100% that their Savings II rate will drop very soon. Their regular iSavings rate is 1.65% and their Money Market Checking is 2.15%. This bank has been lowering their Savings II rate slowly but regularly. I assure you the Savings II rate will continue to drop.

Community Bank of Nevada is offering 180 day @ 2.4%, 365 day @ 3.15%. 24 month @ 3.4% and 36 month @ 3.5%

Anon @ 2pm 3/23:

I've been banking with DSD for the past several months. I'm slowly withdrawing my funds as needed since I can find a more competitive APY elsewhere. But your experience is another reason to keep my deposits elsewhere.

I didn't take out $5k at once (more like $3k) but am a little surprised by DSD's actions.

As you were told, they do have fine print in their account disclosure:

Refusal to Permit Withdrawal
The Bank may refuse to permit withdrawals in cases such as, but not limited to, the following:

1. The Bank chooses to exercise its legal rights to require up to 60 days advance written notice of any intended withdrawal from this Account and the 60 days have not passed since we received the required notice from you;

A annoying/questionable business practice, but at least they only head it for a few days. Of course, even a few days can mess up your bill payments.

Does anyone know about "Redneck Bank" in OK. Money market and checking accounts both appear to be good.

To Anonymous at 4:39 PM: There have been plenty of posts on Redneck Bank, and its two sister banks (America Net Bank and Evantage Bank) here. It is a legitimate, FDIC insured bank with decent bankrate ratings. It has been resisting the trend of lowering rates, one wonders how much longer they can hold out. Their recent move to limit the 3.10% APY to balances up to $35K might have been so that they can keep the rate above other banks. Application process is entirely online, but ACH funding the new account is a little slow. Read the website FAQs carefully, as there some peculiar rules about bank to bank transfers.

Dollar Savings is the biggest ripoff bank out there. Yes, they can refuse to send you your money for up to 60 days. It is in the disclosure. Simply refuse to do business with them. There are plenty of other banks and with better paying interest to deal with.

is it possible to use the
installment savings accounts
as a cd?that is, making an
initial large deposit and
small monthly deposits.thanks
for your input.

First Trade Union Bank! Horrible! I just got off the phone with them, verifying that they did not open my account, as I am reading the posting here about their rates. They also have a great interest rate on a high money savings account, but . . .

They sent me the paperwork to open the account. It took 3 days from my phone call to receipt. I completed all and sent back with my check, and waited. I am in NY, they are in MA. I called every few days to check that my account was opened, to find out each time that hey had not received my check yet. It took 10 days for them to receive it! The reasoning was that they have been having problems with the post office who doesn't seem to deliver their mail on time, but they are working on the problem. Are you kidding me? And the dog ate my homework.

Anyway, they finally had my check, they were going to open my account, it's Monday. As of Wednesday afternoon, a phone rep confirms that there is no account open in my name. I request to speak with the Deposit Operations person I had been originally dealing with. She also confirmed that the account had NOT been opened and she would check with her manager. My check and paperwork were just sitting on the manager's desk, unprocessed! At this point, since I believe in omens and portents, I advised her to void my check, do not open the account and please send everything back.

It is now Thursday afternoon. I call to check where my e-mail is, confirming my request to not open the account, with a copy of my voided check, and that everything has been sent back. My deposit operations person looks into it. Her manager STILL has my paperwork just sitting on her desk! I stay on the phone to receive an e-mail acknowledging my instructions, with an assurance that it will be taken care of by end of day. We'll see.

Obviously, this cannot be a true representation of how FTUB does business, so opening an account at a branch may be an easy thing. If you plan on doing it by mail, as they do not do ACH transfers, I would definately think twice.

A lesson learned that cost me almost 14 days of interest, while I scurried to reap the benefits of moving my money to a higher rate than I currently had. I totally agreed with you, Banking Guy, about moving money to force the banks to stay competative, but after this experience, it just isn't worth it. :-)

@Anonymous, 9:39 AM
I hear you - don't get discouraged. Banks are counting on you giving up 4 higher rates. But there are others good apples out there.

To Anonymous, at 9:39 AM, March 26, 2009:

Lesson learned is that there's a cost to poor customer service. You did the right thing in withdrawing your account application. Of course, had you known about the poor service beforehand, you probably would never have submitted that ap, but that's the risk we all take in dealing with an unknown entity, from afar.

Clear Sky Savings down again, to 2.15% APY (from 2.5%). I think after the rate lock is over on March 31 it may be time to move money to a bank that hasn't been cutting rate as frequently.

Gwinnett Community Bank in Georgia

https://www.emeraldrewardschecking.com/index.html

Reward checking 4.01% up to 25k, 1.01% over

10 debit, 1 dd/ach debit, and estatements.

Received flyer in mail from US Bank that if you stop by your nearest branch or visit usbank.com/checking and open any checking account with direct deposit of $100 by May 31, 2009,you will reeive $100 cash bonus.
1-800-720-BANK. A minimum of $50 is required to open a US Bank Checking account.

GMAC Bank rates down today: Online Savings at 2.25% (from 2.5%), MMA at 1.9% (from 2%). CDs down too!

Smartypig to 3.05% APY

I'm back. Not a deal this time, but an update.

As of April - SmartyPig has announced they will be dropping the APY from 3.25% to 3.05%.

Except from the website:

SmartyPig Update:
Mar 26 at 4:04 AM

Effective April 1, 2009, the APY (annual percentage yield) on SmartyPig accounts will be 3.05%. This is an APR (annual percentage rate) of 3.02%. While interest rates have been trending lower, we believe this is still an extremely competitive yield for an account insured by the FDIC. Thank you for being a SmartyPig customer. We appreciate your business!

Thanks everyone!

First Trade Union Bank Conclusion -
I called to speak with the person who I had been dealing with, and as of this afternoon, the assistant manager STILL had my paperwork sitting on her desk. I found out today that it is the 'assistant' manager, not the manager, who chose not to do any of her job duties over the past week. I was going to speak with her 'manager' because this whole situation truly confounds me, but the manager had people in her office and at this point I just want it over with. So I chose to forgo my e-mail copy of the voided check and have now received an e-mail from my person stating that she has taken all my paperwork and the check, put it in an envelope, and is sending it to me today. Thankfully my saga with FTUB is over.

I would like to say 'Thanks' to the two responses of support, as they have inspired me to continue on and I am now looking at the Acacia Bank savings account offer, which I think I'm going to try.

To everyone who reads these blogs:
Have a great weekend.

You too, Banking Guy, and thanks again for having this site.

Omni National Bank closed by FDIC. SunTrust assumes insured deposits and appears to be only keeping the Georgia and Florida branches.

AIG dropped its top rate from 2.51% down to 2.41%.

In light of the Millennium Bank Ponzi scheme, readers should also be aware of what may be behind high rate CD ads in newspapers.

Here's a nice example from the Florida Office of Financial Regulation.

The OFR alleged that the Florida based defendants advertised high rate FDIC insured CDs in the newspapers to attract investors, usually elderly investors looking for a safe investment. But when the investors responded to these advertisements they were sold either bonded life viatical settlement investments, or collateral secured debt obligations from the Texas based AmeriFirst companies. Investors were told that the secured debt obligations were insured and guaranteed by a commercial bank, when in fact they were not.

Unsuspecting Florida seniors were lured in by compelling newspaper advertisements offering high paying FDIC insured CDs. Instead, they were sold high risk, unsecured debt obligations and other unregistered securities.

FDIC Orders Six California Banks to Raise More Capital

LA Times today reports:

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-banks28-2009mar28,0,2513212.story

Among the banks is Imperial Capital Bank, often mentioned in this blog, and five others. Imperial Capital was also ordered to get a new chief executive who actually has experience.

The story notes that more than a third of the 300 banks in California are losing money.

Thanks for posting the link to the L.A. Times article.

Too bad Imperial Bank won't raise their interest rates to raise capital.

Yes, thanks for the link. I've added the link in the bank news section near the top of the post. Don't forget to click on the bank news link at the top of this post for my latest news links. Likewise for the rate changes.

Saehan Bank is offering a 3.29% APY 6 month unlimited deposit CD. You can make an unlimited number of deposits during the term and up to 5 fee free withdrawals. Min $10,000 max $90,000.

Midwest America Federal Credit Union got notice that their Rewards Checking is going down to 3.5% effective April 1, 2009.

To Anonymous who posted on 5:53 AM, March 28, 2009

What this means is that you have to verify the background of the financial institution that you are dealing with. For many people, they don't know where to look for that information regarding insurance coverage, auditors, investing members, custodian, etc. So they rely on what is printed on the offering material. A lot of these schemes target areas of high population or distribution of wealth. That is why Florida and California are usually ground zero for these schemes. You have to be wary of online financial institutions as well where they can operate without the benefit of an actual physical office location.

To Anonymous who posted on 9:16 AM, March 28, 2009

Interesting article. I am not too surprised about the number of CA banks losing money. Much of the subprime meltdown involved real estate in CA. I also read in the newspaper that the OTS (Office of Thrift Supervision) acting chief was asked to take a leave of absence regarding how Indymac bank was allowed to operate with little supervision by the federal regulation office for Federal Savings Banks. I guess the call to replace the CEO of Imperial Capital Bank is obviously due to the current financial status of that bank. I have a checking account with that bank. Maybe time to reassess that account. Banks that raise interest rates (or who seem to offer higher rates than anyone else), is often a "red flag" that there are money problems with that bank. Sort of the same thinking on why junk bonds (with suspect credit) have to offer higher rates in order to entice capital from investors. The thing with banks if they are having issues and try to attract capital by offering very high rates, the Fed will usually step in and force them to stop the promotions because doing so probably adds more problems to their accounting bottom line.

To Anonymous at 6:52 p.m.:

I, too, still have a free checking account at Imperial Capital Bank. (I took advantage of their Savings II 4% rate for 90 days when I also opened up the free checking to make it easy to transfer funds, etc.)

There is no need to take a second look at your checking account, as you wrote. If Imperial Capital fails, our free checking account is completely insured. Our checking account will either be absorbed by another bank, with no loss to the funds access, or the FDIC will mail us a check very fast. Either way we lose no interest since the checking pays no interest, and we have nothing to worry about.

I closed my Savings II account since the rate is down to 3.37% and still dropping.

Oops, type: 2.27%. Sorry.

Oh, and more than likely another bank would love to have Imperial Capital's bank accounts if the FDIC covered the money.

To Anonymous who posted on 8:53 PM, March 29, 2009

I agree with your point about not worrying about the FDIC coverage should the bank be taken over or shuts down. Actually, my reassessment has more to do with the rate drops more than the financial condition of the bank. If the rate offered is the same or lower than other bank accounts, then why stick with a bank that might fail?

The purpose of this email is to inform you that your Clear Sky Savings Account, currently at 3.75% annual percentage yield, will convert to 2.15%* annual percentage yield beginning April 1, 2009. While we are still not accepting new applications, you may resume normal deposit activity to your account. Clear Sky Accounts' goal is to offer a competitive rate along with exceptional customer service to make banking easy and profitable for you as a saver.
Clear Sky Accounts at Chesapeake Bank would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your business. We realize that some of you will be taking your money to a higher rate account come April 1st, and some of you have enjoyed our customer service and ease of use and a small rate difference will not sway you.

To those that need to move on, thank you for your business and may your savings achievements continue to be prosperous. To those that choose to stay - thank you! We will continue to provide exceptional service and make banking easy. Please, let us know if there is anything we can change or do better.

Please, don't hesitate to contact us if you have any questions. Send us an email at info@clearskyaccounts.com or call us at 877-257-7594.

*Savings rate is variable and may change without notice.

Sincerely,
Kristie Smith
Assistant Vice President
Clear Sky Accounts
brought to you by Chesapeake Bank



Clear Sky Accounts
from Chesapeake Bank
PO Box 1654
Williamsburg, VA 23187-1654
877-257-7594
www.clearskyaccounts.com

Member FDIC

Nara Bank now has a "Mega CD" promotion. Account Details:
Term - 12 months
APY - 3.10%
Minimum Deposit - $10,000
Add-on feature - unlimited deposits
Withdrawals - 3 penalty-free withdrawals until maturity
Don't know if it's nationally available, ot just CA, NY, NJ.

HSBC Online CD rates increased in the past day or so.

9 mo - 2.05% up from 1.95% ,
12 mo - 2.30%

Increase is modest, but withdrawal penalty of 1 month interest only.

https://www.hsbcdirect.com/1/2/1/default/learn-more/ocd

To DataIsGold,

The email from Clear Sky got some chuckles from me. They know about the rate chasers and expect some to "fly the coop" with the rate reductions. They should go back to the old fixed rate system (such as the passbook rate) where rates were fixed and did not vary between financial institutions. That would put an end to all of this money moving around banks.

To Anonymous who posted on 1:09 PM, March 30, 2009

According to this message post, the Mega Promo CD is only available at CA, NY, and NJ.

http://bankdeals.blogspot.com/2009/03/310-add-on-12-month-cd-at-nara-bank.html

Urban Trust increased their CD rates on Friday. The 1 year CD rate went up from 2.5% to 3%. They might have taken a look at their savings rates and saw that the 1 year CD rate was the same as the current checking and money market account rates.

http://www.urbantrustbank.com/2772/mirror/p_rates.htm

Citizens Bank in PA is advertising a Select Money Market with the following rates:

$10,000(minimum) - 2%
$50,000 - 2.50%

Here's the link.

http://www.citizensbank.com/pf/savings/select_mm.aspx

In today's Los Angeles Times

Center Bank advertising 3.40APY --12 Month C/D with 2 Withdrawls allowed...also 3.30% APY for 6 months.

Re: Center Bank CD

http://www.centerbank.com/ad8.asp

Just looking at the CenterBank Ads
http://www.centerbank.com/ad9.asp
Caught my eye. Open a checking account get a 2gig USB drive (blah!) or 20lbs bag of Rice! (Win!)

It was inevitable, and not surprising, Alliant Credit Union adjusted their rates. Some are back-dated to earlier in March. The savings rates are down to 2.75 APY and the high-checking to 2.5 APY (from 3 and 2.75 respectively).

FNBO is dropping its rate from 2.15% to 1.9% on 4/2/09.

1st Constitution Direct lowered their 90-day special rate to 2.75% APY (from 2.95%).

~O-Qua Tangin Wann

EverBank Money Market APY on current accounts has dropped to 1.65%. New accounts for the first year is now 1.87% APY after a 2.51% APY bonus rate for the first 3-month period.

Webster Bank is advertising 2.75% 7 month CD on balances of $5000 and above. Must be opened by 4/30/09.

WebsterOnline.com/special/GD0903

Community Bank of Pleasant Hill lowered their reward checking rate from 5.01 to 3.01% according to their home page this morning. I have not yet been notified by them regarding my account. The statement cycle closed 4/3/09 so I guess they changed it effective today 4/4.

Park National Bank in Chicago has a 2.75% 12 month CD special
http://www.parknatl.com/rates/

If you are interested in the high yield checking accounts I found a neat website that helps you narrow choices:

https://www.checkingfinder.com/

With mm and cd rates so low I am looking more and more closely at these...just end up buying a lot of 1 dollar gallons of gas all over town to reach the goal of 10-13 debits per month. I just hope after spending time to open these accounts that the banks don't just lower the rate...which they can do at any time they want...

i've noticed the provident bank in new jersey on its "smart free checking" (5.01%apy)has been making tiny, daily cuts in the APR. you have to log into the account to see it... but these are the cuts...
april 1: 4.889%
april 2: 4.8318%
april 3: 4.8167%
april 4: 4.8152%

Money Aisle - I tried the site as mentioned in one of Banking Guys write-ups (sorry, don't remember which one) and it's great. It's fun too! They found a bank with the highest savings rate I had seen in a while, 2.50 for over $25k, at Williamstown Savings Bank in MA. Accepted the bid. Results are guaranteed for two weeks. Received an e-mail from the bank. It was easy.

After reading all the info from the Banking Guy, I'd like to give kudos to the following:

Money Aisle: If you haven't tried it yet - do it now! And their feedback response is amazingly quick.

Williamstown Savings Bank: Although I didn't open the account, the customer service rep for the Money Aisle auction accounts was great and opening the account would have been easy.

Webster Bank: This is the one I chose insteasd because the rate was a little higher, required minimum was lower, and it's guaranteed to 6/30/09. Written up by Banking Guy as referred by a reader. Great find.

1st Cosntitution Bank: Already opened this great account. It was extremely easy and the customer service rep was great. The promo reference by Banking Guy from a reader was for the internet offer. I don't like doing things over the internet and still opened an account with them. It's 2.25 (internet offer is 2.50 - was 2.75), no minimum and guaranteed till 9/30/09.

And of course, The Banking Guy.
Grand Kudos to you for doing this site. I haven't had this much fun dealing with my finances or received so much valuable information, in a long time. Thanks!

To Anonymous at 11:29 a.m.:

According to the 1st Constitution Website, their 90-day savings special rate is still listed at 2.75%. What you typed is incorrect, unless they just have not updated their site as of this minute.

Also, I hope you know that MoneyAisle is not a live bidding site. Banks are really not bidding live for your money. The whole thing is a little bit of bull****.

To Anonymous at 11:49:
As to 1st Constitution, you are correct. The original internet offer was for 2.95, which was lowered to 2.75. Thanks for the correction.

Also, I must apologize for a more serious mis-information statement:
The 2.25 till 9/30/09 comment made for 1st Constitution was actually for Acacia Federal Savings (also referenced by Banking Guy), which is the account I opened.

As I did state, the great 1st Constitution rates were for internet only accounts. The non-internet account, although still at a nice rate, did not have a guaranteed promo length. So, I opened the Acacia account instead.

Thankfully, my actual account actions were what I thought they were. My apologies to all when transferring my thoughts to the blog.

As to Money Aisle, no, it's not a live auction, but it does present offers that may not normally be found on a participating banks website. Williamstown Bank being an example of that. Sorry, you didn't have fun with it.

Does anyone know if there are "issues" with leaving bank accounts open with zero balance (i.e., FNBO, Amboy, Dollar Savings Direct).

I know the banks don't mind and they don't have any fees for zero balance but does it effect credit in any way or look bad when opening another account?

To Anonymous at 11:41 a.m.:

You absolutely better check with your specific bank on their zero-balance policy.

Some banks will automatically close a zero-balance account after a set period of time. (I know Wachovia does this.)

Yes, most banks claim they will not charge any fees if your balance is zero, but I have heard reports of some banks that do (maybe even by accident?).

As far as if a zero-balance account will negatively affect one: This is absolutely not the case. Your balance in a bank account is not reported to anyone. (Only credit card balances are reported each month.)

The Treasury plans to lend as much as $2 trillion to private investors to help them buy toxic assets from the banks. As part of that plan, the FDIC plans to add more risk to the plan by insuring 95 per cent of the debt. This, however, seems to be in conflict with the provision that the FDIC can take on obligations only up to $30 billion.
What effect will all this have on those of us who have CDs which are insured by the FDIC???

RedNeck Bank is not taking new accounts

http://www.redneckbank.com/disclosures/whoa.pdf

I opened an account with Redneck bank two weeks ago. At this time they have deducted my initial deposit from my home bank but have not credited the amount to the Redneck account. Currently they have denied access to viewing my account, the account is locked. The behavior and my conversations with Redneck bank have become more suspicious all the time. I am interested in any other experiences from the readers.

Patriots Federal Credit Union is offering up to a $100 bonus for opening a new checking account. $25 for setting up direct deposit, $10 for bill pay, $5 for online statements, $5 for using the check card, $30 for getting an auto loan, $10 for opening any club savings account (vacation club is paying 3.25% APY) and $15 for opening any IRA account. Almost anyone in Southern California can join.

Pacific Crest Bank has a 10 month 3.1% APY promotional CD that requires a checking account with direct deposit.

Texas Security Bank is offering a 3.25% APY 12 month CD. Minimum deposit is $1,000.

The Texas Security Bank offer is better than the regular CD rates shown on the bank website.

http://www.texassecuritybank.com/rates/

I couldn't find a reference link to the CD special webpage on the main webpage. Maybe the special rate is only for a target audience?

Just renewed a CD at IndyMac. They were willing to match a higher rate for 12 months which I found on the web.

3.00% APR/APY 11 Month CD at Connexus Credit Union www.connexuscu.org extended thru end of April. Membership open to all for $5.00 fee to join Connexus Association (a charity). Everything handled exceptionally well online. Very responsive by Email and phone compared to most. Entire application, membership & CD process completed same morning I applied. Highly efficient.

Thanks for the info on Connexus. I have the link to the post on that 3% 11mo CD at the top of this post. It remains the top deal of the day.

2.90% 15 Mo. CD AT AMALGAMATED BANK IN NEW YORK CITY.

Provident Bank -- which will become part of M & T bank in May...

is dropping its High Yield Online Savings Account APY from 2.10% to 1.25% effective April 17, 2009.

As M & T's online bank OnBank currently has the lowest APY around @ 0.75% -- it is likely that Provident's rate will continue to drop until it reaches the identical rate as OnBank.

Provident dropping from 2.10% to 1.25% on 4/17/09.

First Trade Union Bank
High and Mighty Savings rate drop:
APY from 3.04% to 2.75%

I love it: Cape Fear Bank. I was "afraid" they were going to go down...

igobanking.com just rose their interest rate! Could this start a new trend?

Darby Direct Online Savings Account: 3% APY.

Bank is one of those Georgia banks not doing so well, which probably explains the high rate. (Keep your balance under the FDIC limit, of course.)

darby-direct.com

I opened one of those add-on cds at Nara Bank. The people in the branch were nice but the person helping me had trouble explaining the terms because she could not speak English well. The branch manager did better but I am still not sure whether I understand the how the interest works. As best I can tell, the interest in not credited until maturity. That would mean to me that if one made a withdrawal as is allowed, one would lose the interest on the amount withdrawn. The branch manager indicated that on a future visit to the bank, I could be shown a printout showing the accumulation of the interest without any charge which I just might do, but I think that further explanation is needed as to whether the interest is lost or not.

A new online savings account to check out.

https://www.darby-direct.com/

Currently paying 3.00% APY. No minimums or fees.

P.S. Keep up the good work banking guy, alot of us really appreciate your hard work!

Dear Banking Guy, Thank you so very much for your wonderful, and most interesting column. You are by far the best site there is on these subjects. You are so very much appreciated. I am setting up a CDAR, with my dear friends small estate. He does not want on-line banking and wants only local branch San Francisco Bay Area banks for a fixed rate liquid CD or fixed rate savings account,preferably not going farther than December 31st, as FDIC rules may change back. I need to find 6 banks to offer him the best for his money. This is all he has to retire on as he does not own a home. I have to try to get him the most interest possible. I act as his POA as a favor, as I worked in banking many years ago. This is giving me ideas on starting a CDAR bank down the road and not taking so very much interest as the banks, who do CDARS, do. I thought you would be a good partner upon getting to know you in starting something such as this. But what I need are 6 banks by the latest Friday of this week, April 17th. Please let me know. You are the best, please get back to me this week. I am a very serious CDAR POA. I can't thank you enough, and with great respect to you, sincerely, CDAR GIRL

To find the best CD and savings account rates for the San Francisco area, review my California deals. For additional deals, refer to my deals resource guide. I list resources from this site and other sites to help you find the best rates.

Just as I expected. I deposit some more money to my Provident Direct account and the rate gets cut yet again. Well, it will be close to what M&T Bank accounts are currently offering which is to be expected with the upcoming merger. My six figure account there needs to vamoose very soon. I do live close to a bank branch office, but my love affair with it is now over.

Clear Sky Savings at Chesapeake Bank down to 2.05% APY.

Credt unions still have many great CD rates...
Pentagon Federal (Pen Fed) 4.0% for 5 years
Melrose Credit Union 3.91% for 5 years

$100 from Sovereign

http://www.sovereignbank.com/checking-accounts/personal-checking-accounts.asp?scmp=9q1&prd=pck&sou=sov&pos=bbp

Park Cities Bank in Dallas has the following CD Rates (APY):

30 Days 1.50%
90 Days 2.00%
180 Days 2.50%
1 Year 2.85%
2 Year 3.20%

ETrade Complete Savings was cut to 1.20%

https://www.asbnow.com/

Atlantic Stewardship Bank in NJ is offering a 4.25% rewards checking account up to 25k.

Make 10 MasterCard debit card purchases
Set up one Direct Deposit or authorize one automatic payment from your account.
Enroll and receive Electronic Statements (valid e-mail address is required)

With interest rates as low as they have been on CDs have you considered posting CD alternatives such as fixed deferred annuity rates? They are guaranteed by state programs usually up to 100k and are a good alternative. Just a thought.

I just called Citibank today
(4/16/09) about offering a Money Market Plus Account with an APY of 2.4%. They are offering this rate if the balance is at least 25,000.

NARA bank 12-month CD rate is negotiable. I went to the Cerritos CA branch yesterday to renew my 12-month CD. I was able to negotiate for a better rate, 3.25% simple interest. They will send me a monthly check for the interest. There are 3 no-penalty withdraws, maximum 30% of initial deposit. Subsequent deposits are unlimited.

prov-direct savings down to 1.25%

united commercial bank has 2.0% and 2.8% CD IRAs.
I'm not sure of the terms as the signs were in Chinese.

The report on Darby Bank said they didn't do a hard credit pull but when I opened a savings account this week my Debix credit file fraud alert flagged them indicating they did do an inquiry.

Bank of america is raising fees starting June 5.

http://promo.bankofamerica.com/pricingchanges

First Trade Union Bank High and Mighty Savings rate down from 2.75 to 2.32 % as of April 20. I did not see any update regarding this adjustment from this website.

Hi Banking Guy,
I just received a notice from Dedham Savings Bank, that as of June 18, 2009 they're dropping their reward checking account top balance from $50,000 to $25,000. Seems like we're losing in both the rate department and shrinking balances.

First National Bank in southern Colorado has some good CD rates - 2.86% 15-mo and 3.05% 30-mo. $500 minimum deposit. I am pretty sure this is a local only deal as I saw the ad in a local newspaper and the rates are not even shown on their website http://www.fnblasanimas.com/index.htm

Actually I have to correct myself, the promo rates ARE listed at:
http://www.fnblasanimas.com/promotions.htm

NBRS Financial Bank is offering a 13 month cd with a apy of 2.7% min $1000
local deal
http://www.nbrs.com/

To: All
Re: First Republic 2 yr 3.25 APY is toast

I opened my 2 yr today at 3.2/3.25 in the Walnut Creek branch. I was told the rate dropped today to 3.05 APY, but that anybody who walked in with a print-out of the rate table from this morning (4/22) could still get the old rate thru this Friday.

Bozo

Banner Bank of Washington has 2.75%APY 15 month CD special: http://www.bannerbank.com/News/Pages/SpringCDSpecial.aspx

Check out Charter Bank in Washington. Has an investor MM paying 3.1% minimum 50k. Down from 3.5% recently. Not sure if a branch visit is required.


charterbankwa.com

Charter Bank still lists the rate as 3.5% on their site. Perhaps they just have not updated the site, although it says rates effective 4/22/09.

The site says you must contact a relationship expert to open an account. I would guess a branch visit is required.

Amcore Bank in Illinois just reduced their 14 month CD special to 2.75% from 2.90.

State National Bank of Texas decreased their e-checking (rewards) APY from 6% to 5% this morning. One hour later reduced it to 4%. currently website now says 3.01%APY!

A CSR at Alliant Credit Union confirmed their Savings Account interest rate will drop to 2.5% for May.

I am assuming their Checking Account interest rate will also drop .25%, as well.

Will Alliant CU continue to drop their rates after May? What will be their bottom? (If only we were truly psychic.)

~O-Qua Tangin Wann

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124052105775549689.html (“Regulators Fell One Bank, Spare a Rival”). Focus is on two key rivals in Cleveland area, National City and AmTrust, as an illustration of how U.S. government’s approach to banking crisis is evolving.

Just went to Citi because I had a CD maturing. In branch rate is 2.70%, This is MA. But was told that rate is dropping to 2.20% 4/28

To: Tanquin Wann
Re: Alliant

Alliant has gotten stingy of sorts recently. They wouldn't match First Republic's 3.25% (I called two CSRs).

I can only assume they were flooded with our hot money and have not a clue where to park it.

Bozo

Yes, Bozo, you are correct. I was told by someone close to Alliant that they were flooded with deposits, and for a long time now.

Alliant was good. And it was nice while it lasted.

The Anniversary Savings Account is no longer listed on Broadway Federal Bank's website. They may no longer be accepting new applicants, or perhaps they are eliminating the account completely.

I just received an e-mail from redneck bank a couple of days ago saying the their apy is going down from 3.10% to 2% on mega money market account. I'm extremly dissapointed because the higher rate was only on for less than a couple of months, but I'm relieved that I only transfer less than $200 dollars to this account. All transaction take forever to go through their system like transfers, check balances, etc.

To: All
Re: First Republic

It's weird, the CD rate literally fell as I was in the Bank. That was a first.

Bozo

Robert Glickman resigned as president, CEO and a director of Corus Bank. His father, Joseph, resigned as chairman and director. http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-corus-glickman-0424,0,6160443.story (“CEO, chairman resign from Corus Bankshares”).
“The resignations came a couple of months after the $8.35 billion-asset bank agreed to U.S. banking regulators' demands that it boost capital levels, limit its reliance on high-cost deposits, and come up with a plan to dispose of its foreclosed real estate portfolio, which amounted to $409 million at year-end 2008 from $37 million in the year-ago period … Corus, which also saw its delinquent loans rise to $2.04 billion from $436.1 million in the same period, came under increasing pressure to plump up its financial cushion against loan losses after the U.S. Treasury denied its request to participate in the Troubled Asset Relief Program.”

TD BankNorth (Maine) mailed out 2 booklets: renaming/reclassifying accounts ADDING MINIMUMS and FEES over the next few months. I'll be closing my account there.

To: All
Re: Alliant

It's a love/hate relationship. While I'm not real keen on their rates these days, they did introduce this dinosaur to on-line banking. So, I'm getting, in effect, an interest-bearing checking account. I keep money in savings until I need it, then transfer to checking, even a caveman can figure it out.

Bozo

FYI-Wilshire Bank has a special "Jumbo"(100K+)MMA acct not listed or advertised & the rate is 2.81% APY guaranteed til 1/1/2010--I was happy to open this acct friday at the Irvine brnch on RedHillAv together with a 12 mo. 'installment svngs' "deposit" acct & thus avoid the need for a chkng--if MMA bal drops below 100K rate is 1%

Thank you to Anonymous above about the report of the Wilshire State Bank 2.81% APY MMA account ($100K minimum balance).

Schwab Savings down to 1.75%
Schwab Checking down to 0.75% APY

Typo on today's article

"it's not like she stoled the money"

Thanks for your hard work.