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Hard To Find Info About Banks

rarnold2000
  |     |   4 posts since 2018

I have been searching CD and savings info on banks and credit unions. Unfortunately, it has been very frustrating because few of the sites that list various options provide all or even most of the information I need. That means I have to email or call each institution and ask the same questions of reps who may or may not know what they are talking about. Why can't websites which provide updated CD and savings rates and bank information include:

1. Beneficiaries allowed or not.

2. Can account be funded through ACH transfers.

3. Restrictions on amount of additions or withdrawals at one time.

3. Does account require you maintain other accounts with bank (such as checking).

4. How do you get your funds from a CD at maturity if you don't want to renew.

5. Whether the institution will do a hard or soft pull from the credit bureau(s).

I would love to find a site that provides this important information.

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16


Diehard
  |     |   113 posts since 2018
Excellent post. You summed it up well. I would like to see all that information up front, on the CD interest rate page. Not buried way back in chapter 19 somewhere, in the "policies" pdf.
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AnnO
  |     |   129 posts since 2018
I'd rather at least know the deal exists sooner rather than later. The more research the site has to do before posting the deal, the fewer deals get posted and the slower they get posted. Popular deals usually have this kind of additional details shared in the discussion comments as readers find out more information.
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rarnold2000
  |     |   4 posts since 2018
Good point about getting the info out quickly while the deal is still available. And I agree that DA does a great job, better than similar sites. But HighYield is correct, the banks should provide this info up front. While an occasional comment may contain some of the info I listed, I have been researching for months and never found close to all the answers to my list in the comments or on the bank sites. It is a frustrating search.
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5
Diehard
  |     |   113 posts since 2018
Re: my earlier comments.
I was actually referring to the individual bank, or credit unon's website. All that important info (that rarnold posted) should be easy to find, and put in plain simple language on each bank's website. As soon as I click on "CDs", all those policies should be right there. I hate scrolling thru 25 pages of pdf stuff.

Here on DA, Ken does a great job and posts as much info as possible. No complaints here.
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15
anon123
  |     |   20 posts since 2010
I don't think Ken needs to bother doing more work for these questions. I rather he continues finding great deals instead. He already asks most relevant info from CSRs and asking a bunch of other questions will make things more complex. Further, here are my answers to your questions after having accounts in over 30 institutions:
1. I've never encountered one without beneficiaries but yes, I am sure there is an exception somewhere
2. I've never encountered one where you could not first ACH money IN to another account (e.g. savings or checking) and then open CD from there
3. Usually there are severe restrictions, which is why you should use a "hub" account and initiate all your transactions from that account. Both pull and push from Ally or Alliant have very high limits. Brokerage accounts have unlimited amounts you can push/pull usually.
4. I've never seen one where you could not move your money to the checking or saving account in the same institution. From there you can ACH or wire (see #3 above)
5. Don't know about hard/soft pull. I don't think it matters much for most people personally.

I always open savings account first, then transfer money in by pushing from hub account, then move funds over to CD. On way out, I move money to savings acct and then pull from hub account. Only other caveat, I schedule automatic ACH transfers of $0.01 every half year from a hub account (to the savings account in spring and back in the fall) to avoid any dormancy fees on the savings account.
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Anon456
  |     |   249 posts since 2011
I agree, anon123. These are ALL good questions, but secondary to the rate. If the rate is good, then I will call them and ask these questions. One thing missing, IMO, is ACH limit in and ACH limit out. Knowing you can ACH out does not help if you have a 100K CD with low ACH limits come maturity time. PLUS, even if KEN had all of this, it would need to be verified when opening an account. KEN'S lists are VERY good, but things change quickly and you MUST be the one who is ultimately responsible for any transaction or deal that you enter into these firms.
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rarnold2000
  |     |   4 posts since 2018
Yes, as I already said in response to HighYield, I agree with your point that Ken should not have to do this research as it would slow down publication of the information on Deposit Account. I understand that this would be a great burden on Ken and cause problems for his webstie. Nevertheless, I'd like the information to be on the bank websites. In answer to your other comments, I have encountered banks/Credit Unions that don't except beneficiaries or that accept only one beneficiary. They are in the minority but they exist so the question has to be asked of each savings institution. I have also encountered, based mainly on public comments, banks that do strictly limit the amount of ACH transactions in one direction or both or, that do not permit any ACH transactions with any external banks, banks that require deposits and withdrawals be made by check. Your work arounds for these problems make sense and are very workable for some people. However, I do not wish to open and close checking or savings accounts with every bank where I have CD's. I simply don't have the kind of money or time or, perhaps organizational skills, to make this comfortable. Lastly, I have come across many discussions and complaints about banks doing a hard pull on an individual's credit information when the person opened a savings or CD account. As you know, hard pulls are read as inquiries and too many inquiries effect credit scores negatively. So I do think the interest in this information does matter to many. I know I can call each institution as many people do and I have called several where I think the rates are good. It is simply a lot of work which could be avoided and save every, including the banks, time if the banks put this info upfront on their websites.
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2
Ally6770
  |     |   4,307 posts since 2010
Agree that the institutions could put it on their website. This would save customers time by not having to call and for the customer rep from making mistakes answering the questions. Anyway if the customer service person answers the questions you have no proof of what they said was correct. Ask for disclosures or hope that they post them. 
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anon123
  |     |   20 posts since 2010
In the post-Equifax world, with many people keeping credit agencies' accounts frozen, most interesting piece of additional info for me would be what credit agencies need to be thawed for the new account setup. (But as I said in a reply below, I don't think Ken needs to worry about it on this site - banks, credit unions should make that info easily available.)
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ORInvestor
  |     |   44 posts since 2014
Very useful information!

I would modify item 1 to also ask (a) can IRS approved charities be listed as a beneficiary, (b) can the beneficiaries be left to receive unequal shares? If an institution allows unequal shares how many digits in the allocated shares are allowed?

I like to specify Person 1 with 99.998%, Charity 1 0.001%, and Charity 2 0.001% this gives me $750,000 of FDIC or NCUA insurance with essentially all of the funds going to Person 1. For example, for $750,000 Person 1 would get all but $15.

For a Credit Union I ask if they are part of the shared branch system.

I always ask about Early Withdrawal Fees.
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ORInvestor
  |     |   44 posts since 2014
I have credit freezes at the 3 credit agencies and ChexSystems. I ask which ones I need to temporarily lift while they process my application.
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