Was talking to an old buddy of mine in Arizona last week and we got to talking interest rates and he told me about Integro Bank in Phoenix that is offering some really decent rates right now. In fact the one year is 5.25% apy and the 18 month is 5.10% apy which are both probably rate leaders right now and apparently you do have the ability to open an account online. I have some funds coming due today so I checked into this bank and noticed Weiss has their health rating at an E- and had their profitability, liquidity and stability as very poor. They are also a very small FI with assets of 65 million and have only been in business for a short while. Needless to say even with those good rates I did not open up an account but I had never seen an E- rating before and thought it interesting.
Answers
As far as the ratings, maybe try some of the other agencies like Bauer to see what they say. I just checked Bauer, they show 3 stars which is (barely) "adequate". But history has shown not to always trust the ratings companies, things could be a lot worse than that.
Yeah, if things look poor I don't know if I'd go for it. Even if you got all your funds back it would be a hassle, take a while, and by that time rates elsewhere will have dropped even further in this environment now. I've had to deal with failed banks/CUs a couple times in my life. Never lost any money but still a pain.
EDIT: Here's what Weiss says about "E-" Rating for Integro Bank, when you click on it:
"The institution currently demonstrates what we consider to be significant weaknesses and has also failed some of the basic tests that we use to identify fiscal stability. Therefore, even in a favorable economic environment, it is our opinion that depositors or creditors could incur significant risks. - The minus sign is an indication that the bank is in the lower third of the letter grade."
Profitability
Net Income -2.46M
Net Interest Spread 4.41%
Operating Profit to Average Assets -8.09%
Overhead Efficiency Ratio 277.28%
Return on Assets -8.09%
Return on Equity -27.81%