Seems banks mostly only offer callable CDs (brokered). The first call is usually less than a year and you can usually buy a year CD with a better yield. What's the point?
Ya think banks just don't need any more money?
Answers
Basically, it's to protect the bank from being stuck paying a high interest rate on the CD when rates are dropping.
"The first call is usually less than a year and you can usually buy a year CD with a better yield. "
What yield the 1-year CD is going for at the same time a longer term callable CD was issued is pretty much irrelevant, same as trying to compare a 1-year CD to a non-callable longer-term CD. Two different products aimed at different segments of the banking market. You need to compare apples to apples. The proper comparison is with other CDs of the same duration (as they're pretty much targeting the same segment of the banking market).
A callable CD usually has a slightly higher yield (to compensate for the risk of it being called early) than a non-callable of the same duration. Remember, just because it has a call date doesn't mean it necessarily will be called. Banks aren't going to call them when rates stay the same or go up. Even when rates drop slightly, they're not likely to bother for a small handful of basis points difference. It's mainly only when rates become significantly lower that you can expect the CD to be called.