As of 5 pm ET 02/27/2025, here are the highest rates, at either Charles Schwab brokerage and/or Vanguard brokerage for non-callable, new-issue brokered CDs with terms of 3-month, 6-month, 9-month, 1-year, 18-month, 2-year, 3-year, 4-year, and 5-year:
3-month: 4.35% (Beal Bank USA NV, Northpointe Bank MI)
6-month: 4.30% (Merrick Bank UT – monthly, The Bank of New York Mellon NY, Parkway Bank and Trust Company IL)
9-month: 4.30% (Associated Bank NA WI)
1-year: 4.30% (Parkway Bank and Trust Company IL)
18-month: 4.25% (Bank Hapoalim BM NY, Merrick Bank UT - monthly, MSB, MSPB, WF - monthly)
2-year: 4.25% (AMEX, Merrick Bank UT - monthly, MSB, MSPB, WF - monthly)
3-year: 4.25% (AMEX, MSB, MSPB, Valley National Bank NJ)
4-year: 4.25% (MSB, MSPB)
5-year: 4.25% (AMEX, MSB, MSPB)
Large issuers abbreviations:
AMEX=> American Express National Bank, UT; BofA => Bank of America NA, NC;
GSB => Goldman Sachs Bank USA, NY;
MSB => Morgan Stanley Bank, UT; MSPB => Morgan Stanley Private Bank, NY;
SCHW => Charles Schwab Bank, TX; UBS => UBS Bank USA, UT; WF=> Wells Fargo Bank, SD.
Notes: For those staying liquid, here are the previous ten, including today’s, weekly 4-week T-bill auctions most recently yielding investment rates: 4.308%, 4.318%, 4.323%, 4.323%, 4.323%, 4.339%, 4.313%, 4.318%, 4.339%, 4.334%.
Current Money Market yields as of 02/26/25 at Vanguard are (VMFXX (Settlement fund) 4.25%, VUSXX (Treasury) 4.27%, VMRXX (Cash Reserves Admiral) 4.27%).
As of February 26, 2025, ICI reported to the Federal Reserve that $6.97 trillion of cash is parked in money market funds. This is an increase of $60.54 billion from the prior week.
Wells Fargo Bank NA SD is issuing again. Watch for March to be a large issuance month of brokered cd’s. With the Fed policy interest rate range of 4.25% - 4.50%, Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack said interest rates are NOT “meaningfully restrictive” and should be held steady for some time as officials wait for evidence inflation is returning to their 2% target. As for fiscal policy, the uncertainty of exactly what the amounts/%’s of reciprocal tariffs will be and for whom, come April 2nd, has inflation expectations climbing.
