I was told by a Flagstar Bank CSR that this promotion is offered to customers who live in Michigan only. Customers can apply at a branch or online.

Flagstar regularly offers these savings and money market promotions. The main downside with these promos is that the rates will fall substantially when the promo ends. So you may not want to keep the account when you lose the promo rate.

Flagstar Overview

Flagstar Bank currently operates over 100 branches in Michigan. In 2011 Flagstar announced that PNC would acquire its branches in the Atlanta, Georgia metro area.

Flagstar used to have an internet bank called FlagstarDirect.com, but that now redirects users to Flagstar.com.

The bank has been hit hard by mortgage problems that started during the financial crisis. However, its financial health has been improving. Its Texas Ratio is still below average at 64.53%, but this is an improvement from last year when it was 68.26%. It currently has an overall health score at DepositAccounts.com of 4 stars (out of 5) based on December 2012 data. Please refer to our financial overview of Flagstar Bank for more details. The bank has been a FDIC member since 1987 (FDIC Certificate # 32541).

How This Savings Account Rate Compares

EverBank’s money market promotion is similar to this one, and unlike Flagstar, EverBank’s accounts are available online in all states. One advantage with EverBank is a higher rate. It’s guaranteeing 1.25% for the first six months. Also. after the promo period, the standard rate is higher (0.76% as of 5/21/13). The main downside is that the maximum balance that qualifies for the promo rate is much smaller. The money market balance cap is $50K and the checking balance cap is $100K. Balances over these amounts will earn a much smaller rate.

Searching for the Best Savings & Money Market Rates

To review other top rates on liquid accounts, please refer to our savings account and money market account rate tables. You can often get better deals on checking accounts. To find the best rates, please refer to our checking account table for regular checking accounts and our reward checking account table.

The first promotion is a $50 checking account bonus. You can earn a $50 Visa Reward Card for opening a new checking account. There’s also a $50 refer-a-friend bonus. You and each person you refer who opens a checking account receive a $50 Visa Reward Card. The credit union’s free checking account qualifies for this promotion. The promotion is listed in the credit union’s promo page as of 5/21/2013. Thanks to the DA reader who emailed me news of this.

The second promotion is a new-member 1-year CD with a 5% APY. As you might expect, there’s a maximum deposit. The maximum is $1,000. Minimum deposit is $500. If you open the CD with a $1,000 deposit, you’ll earn $50 for the year. Only one certificate is allowed per member, and it must be opened within 30 days of joining the credit union. This new-member CD is listed in the credit union’s special certificates page as of 5/21/2013.

The credit union used to have some top rates on its regular CDs. However, the current rates are a little low. The current best deal is a 30-month Step-It-Up Certificate with a 1.00% APY.

Membership

The primary way to qualify for membership is through a Christian ministry. According to the credit union’s “Can I Join” page:

If you are affiliated with a Christian ministry (including many Protestant Christian churches and schools) that is within Christian Community Credit Union’s field of membership. You may be a member, attendee, employee, missionary, or student/alumnus.

Please refer to the credit union’s “Can I Join” page for the full details.

Credit Union Overview

The credit union has offices in San Dimas and Covina, California.

As I mentioned above, the credit union only has private deposit insurance through ASI. Like the NCUA, the ASI does provide access to each credit union's financial data. Here's the ASI page for Christian Community Credit Union.

Other Credit Union and Bank Bonuses

Another credit union offering a new-member CD with a 5% APY and a $1,000 maximum deposit is Patelco Credit Union. Anyone can join via an association. Patelco used to be insured only by ASI, but that changed a few years ago, and Patelco is now federally insured by the NCUA.

We have a bank promotions page with a table of all of the active bank and credit union promotions. You can filter the table based on the type of promotion and based on your state. I have more details about how to use this page in this blog post.

You can view my latest bank bonus blog posts in this bank bonus page. I and DA members often post on bonuses in the checking account deals forum.

Freezing accounts when they’re inactive isn’t just done by banks. As I described last November, my share savings account at one of my credit unions was labeled as inactive and was frozen by the credit union. I found out about this when I tried to establish a link to the account from my Discover Bank account. I was planning to use this link to initiate ACH withdrawals when my credit union CD matured. The linking process failed due to the account being frozen. To re-activate my credit union savings account, I had to send the credit union a service request form and a copy of my driver's license. Once it became active again, I tried to redo the Discover Bank link process, but that failed. Discover Bank then required written proof of my ownership of the credit union account.

For both this credit union example and the example with TIAA Direct, an inactive account can create a lot of hassles even when you aren’t hit by fees. In the past, I have been hit by monthly fees that started when the accounts became labeled as inactive. Both cases were at credit unions, and the fees started after one year with no member-initiated transactions to the accounts.

Each time you open a bank or credit union account, you should make sure you know the answers to the following questions. If you have multiple accounts at one institution, don’t assume that activity in one account will meet activity requirements in another.

• When is an account considered inactive? 3 months? 6 months? 1 year?
• What happens when the account becomes inactive? monthly fees? account freeze?
• What is considered an activity? Does an ACH transfer count?
• What is the escheatment period? This is when the bank turns over the account to the state. The period can depend on state laws.

You should also be aware that these policies can change, and you may not be sent a change notice. DA member me1004 described the problems that can happen when a credit union changes its account inactivity policy.

To prevent account inactivity fees and having your account frozen, it’s a good idea to regularly review the latest rules. Unfortunately, this isn’t always easy. Last year I investigated the account inactivity policies at PenFed. The policies were not clearly described in PenFed’s online disclosures, and I didn’t get clear answers from a PenFed CSR. I had to get help from my PenFed contact.

One useful rule of thumb to avoid account inactivity is to make sure you initiate some account activity (such as initiating a transfer) at least once for every six months. You should also consider closing the account. That’s one easy way to avoid having to worry about changing policies and inactivity fees. Just be aware of the possibility of account closure fees.

A carefully structured Special Needs Trust (also called a Supplemental Needs Trust) is an important cornerstone in special needs planning.

Here's what you need to know.

Over the last decade, estate planning techniques have changed, based on emerging, federal and state legislation, and shifting threshold levels of taxation and net worth. “It is imperative that parents of a child who has special needs have a plan in place, regardless of the size or value of their estate,” says Dan Cornwell, president of Cambridge Consulting Group.

While parents are typically the primary caregivers of a child with special needs, what if one or both parents die or become disabled? Other family members may be thrust into the role of primary caregiver, whether they're ready or not. If something happens to the parents, who will become the new primary caregiver? Is that person prepared to provide emotional support and actual physical care? Are there financial resources or financial assistance. These are just some of the questions to be considered, says Cornwell.

Why a Special Needs Trust is critical

A Special Needs Trust permits distributions to a child with special needs to supplement, but not replace, monies available through government assistance. If any trust other than a Special Needs Trust was utilized, under the laws of most, if not all states, the child would be ineligible for Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income (SSI), says Lori Wolf, a member of the law firm Cole Schotz, who specializes in estate planning and special needs planning. The trust is also important to ensure that a trustee selected by family is named to invest trust assets and make trust distributions in the best interests of the child.

“A disabled person can have assets/and or income set aside to pay for any expenses over and above what public benefits will cover without jeopardizing his or her eligibility for public benefits. Also, assets are managed by a trustee and not the disabled person,” says Ronald Fatoullah, an attorney with Ronald Fatoullah & Associates, which specializes in elder law, explaining a Special Needs Trusts' chief benefits.

Avoid pitfalls

As vital as Special Needs Trusts are, there are challenges. For example, when a self-settled trust is used for a disabled person under the age of 65, a parent, grandparent, guardian or a court must establish the trust for the disabled person to avoid certain Medicaid issues. Therefore, if the disabled person does not have a parent, grandparent or guardian, the court must be involved, points out Fatoullah. “Sometimes, it is difficult to find a reliable trustee,” he adds.

There is no shortage of caveats. While the trust can own a house where the child lives, however the child must then pay rent for use of the home to ensure that the trust is not funding the child's housing needs, says Wolf.

Another example is if the child moves, the trust will need to be re-evaluated. “A Special Needs Trust should be reviewed with an attorney of the other state to be sure that it will be acceptable in that state as well,” says Fatoullah. Although Medicaid and SSI are federal programs, they are administered by states and each state has its own set of requirements of what must be included in a Special Needs Trust, says Wolf.

Know too, that there are two kinds of Special Needs Trusts. A third party trust is funded by assets gifted to or bequeathed to the trust for the benefit of the child. The other, a first party trust is funded with the child's own assets, including assets in the child's name or assets paid for the child through a medical malpractice claim or other such claim. A first party trust has many more onerous requirements than a third party trust, says Wolf. One example, she says, is that there must be a reimbursement for many of the government benefits provided to the child with assets that remain in the trust at the child's death. Assets gifted or bequeathed for a a child should not be contributed to a first party trust and the child's own assets should not be contributed to a third party trust.

Make no assumptions. Some families choose to disinherit a child with special needs to ensure that they are not disqualified from receiving benefits. Bad idea says Wolf. “I strongly discourage that. The parents assume that their other children will care for the child with special needs. There are many reasons they may fail to adequately protect the child with special needs,” warns Wolf.

Do not keep the trust secret. Let the extended family know of its existence to ensure they coordinate gifts and provisions in their will for the benefit of the child to leave anything passing to the child to the child's Special Needs Trust.

In the event of a divorce, child support to a child with special needs after age 18 should pass to a Special Needs Trust to preserve the child's eligibility for government assistance.

Be sure that retirement plan assets and life insurance are coordinated with the Special Needs Trust. “I often see that families prepared the right form of trust, but neglected to change the designated beneficiaries of retirement plan accounts and life insurance to ensure that the share of the child with special needs is allocated to his or her trust,” says Wolf.

Trustees of Special Needs Trusts must be careful about what is paid from the trust. The trust will document acceptable payments to be made for the benefit of the disabled person. Trustees are fiduciaries, and must act in accordance with the trust agreement and in the best interests of the beneficiaries, says Fatoullah.

What should top your to-do list though, is to consult an attorney who has expertise in Special Needs Trusts to be sure that the trust is drafted properly in conformity with state law.

Unfortunately, only these government-reported inflation numbers matter in determining monetary policy. And this data gives the Fed justification to keep its easy money policies. According to this CNNMoney.com article:

"With inflation dropping to a two-and-a-half year low and labor markets still soft, the Fed is well-positioned to keep the monetary spigots open in support of the economy," said Jim Baird, partner and chief investment officer for Plante Moran Financial Advisors, in a note.

However, not all news this week pointed to a never-ending zero interest rate policy. According to this Bloomberg article:

Treasuries fell in the longest losing streak this year as the economy showed more signs of strength, prompting speculation the Federal Reserve may start to slow the pace of its monetary stimulus.

The article had another description of the economic news as "modestly better data", and this Reuters article warns of "fresh signs of slower growth in the second quarter." In summary, I wouldn't get my hopes up for higher deposit rates any time soon.

The Treasury yield changes over the last week and the expectation of future Fed funds rates are shown below. Numbers are based on Daily Treasury Yield Curve Rates and the CME Group FedWatch.

Treasury Yields:

• 6-month: 0.08% same as last week
• 2--year: 0.26% same as last week
• 5--year: 0.84% up from 0.82% last week
• 10-year: 1.95% up from 1.90% last week
• 30-year: 3.17% up from 3.10% last week

Fed funds futures' probability of rate hike by:

• Jan 2015: 32% up from 28% last week
• Sep 2015: 69% up from 67% last week

There was a rare Tuesday bank failure this week. The total number of bank failures for the year is now 13. At this time last year there had already been 24 bank failures, and at this time in 2011, there had been 43 bank failures.

Savings & Checking Account Rates

Two rate leaders had rate cuts this week. Incredible Bank cut its money market rate by 5 bps and its checking account rate by 10 bps. The money market account yield is now 0.91% for balances up to $250K. The last cut was in early April when the money market yield fell from 1.01% to 0.96%.

The other rate cut came from Barclays. Its online savings account yield fell from 1.00% to 0.90%. This is the first cut since Barclays started offering this account in March 2012. Let's hope that rate cuts at Barclays remain rare.

We now have only two savings and money market accounts with yields of at least 1.00%. This is when you exclude accounts that are promotions (like EverBank), that have small balance caps (like Evantage Bank and SmartyPig) and have checking requirements (like Connexus Credit Union). Those two remaining accounts are at MyBankingDirect which has a 1.05% APY money market account and CIT Bank which has savings account with a 1.00% APY for balances of at least $25K.

Reward Checking Accounts

No reward checking accounts on my list of nationally available accounts had rate cuts or balance cap cuts this week. However, we are still seeing cuts for the local reward checking accounts, and you can view the latest in the reward checking subforum.

To find the highest reward checking rates and balance caps in your state or nationwide, please refer to our reward checking rate table. If you're new to these tables, my rate table guide should be useful. If you're new to reward checking, please refer to my blog post, 10 Common Traits of High-Yield Reward Checking.

Rate Hikes:

1. None

Rate/Balance Cap Cuts:

1. Incredible Bank MMA - 0.91% [was 0.96%]
2. Barclays Savings Account - 0.90% [was 1.00%]
3. ableBanking MMA - 0.80% [was 0.85%]
4. Incredible Bank Checking - 0.71% [was 0.81%]

Certificate of Deposit Rates

My recap of CD rate changes and the list of CD deals will now be in my survey of the best CD rates. This recap will now focus on banking news of the week and liquid accounts.

Recap for the Week - Links to This Week's Posts

• Rare Tuesday Bank Failure in Arizona
• Why It's Time to Take A New Look at Credit Unions

• Barclays Online Savings Account Rate Falls After More Than a Year at 1.00%
• Incredible Bank Makes It Easier To Avoid New Monthly Maintenance Fee

• Survey of the Best CD Rates for May 17, 2013
• Higher CD Rates at GE Capital Retail Bank
• Barclays Now Allows Interest Disbursement On CDs

• $100 Checking Account Bonus at Western State Bank in AZ and ND
• $150 Checking Account Bonus (with Caveats) at KeyBank in Certain States Only
• Free Checking Account Bonus at Widget Financial Credit Union in PA

• Texas Money Market and CD Specials with Top Rates at Libertad Bank

• Archive of 2013 Posts

The rates listed below are based on Annual Percentage Yield (APY). No minimum balances are required unless noted. MMA next to the rates indicate a money market account. Most MMAs have check writing and ATM cards. Online savings accounts usually lack both of these. Previous weekly summaries are available at this page.

Rates as of May 18, 2013

Checking/Savings/Money Market Accounts:

• Best Savings Account Rates (Nationwide & by State)
• Best Money Market Rates (Nationwide & by State)
• Best Checking Account Rates (Nationwide & by State)

• How to View Rates for Your State

• Noteworthy Accounts Available Nationwide:

• EverBank - 1.25% MMA/Checking (6mo intro rate) 0.76% ongoing rate, account review
• Connexus Credit Union - 1.15% ($100K) 1.00% ($50K) 0.75% ($20K) active chk required
• Redneck Bank - 1.10% MMA (up to $35K) 0.50% (over $35K)
• AmericaNet Bank - 1.10% MMA (up to $35K) 0.50% (over $35K)
• Evantage Bank - 1.10% MMA (up to $35K) 0.50% (over $35K)
• MyBankingDirect - 1.05% (min $5K)
• CIT Bank - 1.00% ($25K) 0.90% ($100) Savings, account review
• SmartyPig - 1.00% ($50K max), account review
• SFGI Direct - 0.94% account review
• Incredible Bank - 0.91% MMA ($2.5K min) account review
• Sallie Mae Bank - 0.90% MMA account review
• Union Federal Savings Bank - 0.90% MMA (min $2.5K) account review
• Salem Five Direct - 0.90% savings, for new customers only
• Barclays - 0.90% Savings account review
• American Express Bank - 0.85%, account review
• Colorado Federal Savings Bank - 0.85% ($2.5K min) account review
• Capital One 360 - 0.85% ($100K) 0.80% ($50K) 360 Checking
• FNBO Direct - 0.85% Savings
• GE Capital Retail Bank (formerly MetLife) - 0.85% ($25K) 0.80% ($10K) Savings
• Sallie Mae Bank - 0.85% Savings account review
• AloStar Bank of Commerce - 0.85% ($50K) 0.50% ($0) MMA Advantage
• Mutual of Omaha Bank - 0.85% Savings (min $25) account review
• Ally Bank - 0.84% MMA/savings
• Clear Sky Accounts - 0.80% (max $250K) account review
• Discover Bank - 0.80% Savings (min $500) account review
• ableBanking - 0.80% MMA (min $1K)
• TIAA Direct - 0.76% MMA/Savings (not accepting new customers) account review
• Nationwide Bank - 0.76% MMA (min $1K)
• Bank of Internet USA - 0.75% MMA
• Capital One 360 - 0.75% 360 Savings
• Incredible Bank - 0.71% Checking ($1K min) account review
• Alliant Credit Union - 0.70% (min $100) Savings account review
• Alliant Credit Union - 0.65% Checking (req's elec. dep & e-stmts) account review

Reward Checking Accounts:

• Best Reward Checking Account Rates for a $10,000 Balance - Nationally Available
• Best Reward Checking Account Rates for a $25,000 Balance - Nationally Available

• How to View Rates for Your State

• Noteworthy Accounts Available Nationwide:

• Great Lakes Credit Union - 4.00% (up to $10K) 0.05% ($10K+) Ultimate Checking
• Belvoir FCU - 3.25% (up to $15K) 0.05% ($15K+) CUXcel Checking
• Consumers Credit Union - 3.09% (up to $5K) 0.20% ($5K-$25K) 0.10% ($25K+)
• Money One Federal Credit Union - 3.01% (up to $10K) 0.51% ($10K+)
• Lake Michigan Credit Union - 3.00% (up to $15K) 0.00% ($15K+)
• Capital Educators Federal Credit Union - 2.50% (up to $10K) 0.20% ($10K+)
• ABCO Federal Credit Union - 2.02% (up to $25K) 0.20% ($25K+)
• American Savings Bank, fsb - 2.00% (up to $15K) 0.25% ($15K+) Kasasa Cash
• Redneck Bank - 2.00% (up to $10K) 0.50% (over $10K)
• AmericaNet Bank - 2.00% (up to $10K) 0.50% (over $10K)
• Evantage Bank - 2.00% (up to $10K) 0.50% (over $10K)
• INOVA Federal Credit Union - 2.00% (up to $20K) 0.15% ($20K+)
• Provident Credit Union - 1.76% (up to $25K) 0.11% ($25K+)
• Connexus Credit Union - 1.75% (up to $25K) 0.31% ($25K+) Xtraordinary Checking
• Community Bank of Raymore - 1.75% (up to $10K) 0.35% ($10K+)
• Community Bank of Pleasant Hill - 1.75% (up to $10K) 0.35% ($10K+)
• Pacific Resource Credit Union - 1.75% (up to $15K) 0.50% ($15K+)
• First Tech Federal Credit Union - 1.58% (up to $10K) 0.16% ($10K+)
• BofI Federal Bank (affinity groups) - 1.50% (up to $150K) 0.00% ($150K+)
• Avidia Bank - 1.36% (up to $25K) 0.05% ($25K+)
• West Texas National Bank - 1.26% (up to $25K) 0.25% ($25K+)
• Heritage Bank - 1.26% (up to $25K) 0.05% ($25K+)
• First New England Federal Credit Union - 1.25% (up to $15K) 0.10% ($15K+) (extra 1% w/relationship)
• Bank of Blue Valley - 1.25% (up to $15K) 0.10% ($15K+), $1K/month debit card req (account review)
• Bank of Internet USA - 1.25% (up to $150K) 0.00% ($150K+)
• BankFirst Financial Services - 1.24% (up to $50K) 0.15% ($50K+)
• Legence Bank - 1.05% (up to $25K) 0.25% ($25K+)
• North Country Savings Bank - 1.05% (up to $25K) 0.75% ($25K+)
• State Bank of Toledo - 1.00% (up to $25K) 0.15% ($25K+)

Certificates of Deposit:

• Best CD Rates (Nationwide & by State)
• Best IRA CD Rates (Nationwide & by State)

• How to View Rates for Your State

• Survey of the Best CD Rates for May 17, 2013 (Nationwide & Local)

Various Deposit Account Deals

• Bank Promotions
• Best IRA CD rates, local and nationwide deals
• Latest CD and Savings Account Deals with No Major Deposit Limitiations

Bank Account Alternatives - NOT FDIC Insured

• Investment Discussion Forum

• Duke Energy PremierNotes - 1.50% rate for $50K+, Duke Energy PremierNotes review
• Ally Financial Demand Notes - 1.50%, Ally Demand Notes review
• Ford Interest Advantage - 1.10% rate for $50k+, Ford Interest Advantage review
• GE Interest Plus - 1.10% rate for $50k+
• Vanguard Tax-Exempt Money Market Fund - 0.04% 7-day yield
• Vanguard Prime Money Market Fund - 0.01% 7-day yield
• Fidelity Money Market Fund - 0.01% 7-day yield (reviews on Fatwallet)
• Fidelity Municipal Money Market Fund - 0.01% 7-day yield
• TIAA-CREF Money Market Fund - 0.00% 7-day yield
• PayPal Money Market Fund has ended effective 7/29/11
• FW Thread on Treasury Bills
• Series I Savings Bond Purchases from May to October 2013, I Bond Article, I Bonds as CD Alternatives

The highest 5-year CD rate for a bank continues to be 1.85% APY at Green Bank, N.A. Green Bank has an online application, but I don't consider this an internet bank. The highest 5-year CD yield at an internet bank is 1.75% APY at Barclays, CIT Bank and GE Capital Retail Bank.

GE Capital Retail Bank just recently joined this internet bank rate leader status. Its 5-year Jumbo CD yield increased this week from 1.65% to 1.75%. Its 4-year CD yield also increased. However, not all of its rates increased. Its 18-month Jumbo CD yield fell this week from 1.10% to 1.05%.

Local CD Deals

The best deal this week came from Libertad Bank. Unfortunately, it's only available to Texas residents. The deal includes a 15-month CD with a 1.50% APY. An even better deal is its money market account special with a 1.50% APY that's guaranteed to last until 6/30/2014. Minimum balance to qualify for this rate is $10,000. Since the money market account rate is guaranteed to last until 6/30/2014, I consider this to be essentially a 1-year CD that's more flexible. Keep in mind that Libertad Bank is small, and hot deals often don't last long at small banks.

One recent hot deal that didn't last long was at SharePlus Federal Bank which has branches in parts of Texas, California and Kentucky. The bank had a special CD with a 2% APY for terms from 1 to 5 years. Since the special is no longer listed on the bank's website, I called the bank today (the Irvine branch), and I was told the rate has fallen to 1.50% APY. That's still a good deal for terms of under 3 years.

We also lost a 2% CD from the local deals this week. Security Service Federal Credit Union's 5-year CD yield that's available in San Antonio fell from 2% to 1.95%. The 7-year CD yield also fell 5 bps. It's now 2.30% APY.

The best local deal continues to be the 2.50% APY 30-month CD at NavyArmy Community Credit Union. Membership is open to those who live, work, worship or attend school in one of several Texas counties that make up the Corpus Christi metro area.

Long-Term CD Break Strategy

For the short-term CDs in my lists, you might notice CDs with the note "5-year CD closed after X years". These take into account the yield after the early withdrawal penalty is applied. Since Ally Bank's 5-year CD only has a 60-day interest penalty, it's still a good deal when closed early even with the recent rate cuts.

If you want to compare the effective yields of other CDs after the early withdrawal penalties, please refer to our CD early withdrawal penalty calculator.

The risks of planning for early withdrawals of long-term CDs were recently highlighted by the deposit agreement change at Ally. The risks have also been seen at credit unions which have raised the early withdrawal penalties on existing CDs. I have more details in this blog post.

Note About the CD Survey

As I described in my rate table overview, you can use our CD rate tables to find the best rates for both nationally available CDs and local CDs. This CD survey blog posts are intended to highlight nationwide CD deals that may not be apparent in the tables. For example, I'll include the post-penalty yields of a few long-term CDs.

The CD survey blog posts are also intended to highlight the local CD deals that are available in large metro areas. There are many high CD rates, but most of these are at small banks in rural areas or at small credit unions with very narrow fields of membership. In these local CD surveys, my focus is on local CD deals that are in big cities or that are available in large areas of a state.

Yields Accurate as of May 17, 2013

Under 1-Year CD Rates

• EverBank - 1.25% checking/MMA intro 6-month rate ($100K/$50K max) account review
• Ally Bank - 1.01% (1.51% 5-year CD closed after 6 months, see review & risks)
• Connexus Credit Union - 1.00% 6-month CD w/active chk
• Doral Bank Direct - 0.92% 9-month CD, account review
• Doral Bank Direct - 0.88% 6-month CD, account review
• Ally Bank - 0.85% 11-month No-Penalty CD, see account review
• Colorado Federal Savings Bank - 0.70% 6-month CD
• Discover Bank - 0.70% 6-month CD

• Noteworthy Local Deals

• Quabbin Online Credit Union - 1.25% (max $100K) 6-month CD (parts of MA)
• PacTrust Bank - 1.25% ($250K) 1.00% ($100K) Savings Account intro rate until 12/31/13, account review (SoCal)
• Gulf Coast Federal Credit Union - 1.10% 6-month CD (Corpus Christi, TX metro)
• Prairieland Federal Credit Union - 1.06% ($100K) 6-month special CD (Central IL)
• Oritani Bank - 1.02% checking intro rate until 1/2/14 (Northeast NJ)
• Your Community Credit Union - 1.00% ($100K) 6-month CD (Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston, TX)
• CapitalSource Bank - 0.90% ($10K) 9-month CD (Southern California)

1-Year CD Rates

• Ally Bank - 1.26% (1.51% 5-year CD closed after 1 year, see review & risks)
• State Bank of India - Chicago - 1.16% ($95K) 1.05% ($2.5K) 1-year CD
• Connexus Credit Union - 1.10% 1-year CD w/active chk
• Triumph Savings Bank - 1.06% 1-year CD
• CIT Bank - 1.05% ($25K min) add-on & bump-up 1-year CD
• GE Capital Retail Bank (formerly MetLife) - 1.05% ($25K min) 1-year CD
• Citizens State Bank - 1.05% ($100K) 0.99% ($1K) 1-year CD, account review
• Colorado Federal Savings Bank - 0.95% 1-year CD
• Barclays - 0.88% (1.75% 5-year CD closed after 1 year, see review & risks)

• Noteworthy Local Deals

• City County Credit Union - 1.51% 1-year IRA-only CD (many FL counties)
• Libertad Bank - 1.50% MMA rate guaranteed to 6/30/14 (Texas)
• SharePlus Federal Bank - 1.50% ($25K-$50K max) 1-year You Choose CD (parts of TX, CA & KY) account review
• Gulf Coast Federal Credit Union - 1.50% 12-month CD (Corpus Christi, TX metro)
• LOMTO Federal Credit Union - 1.20% 1-year CD (parts of New York City)
• Doral Bank NY - 1.20% 1-year CD (NYC)
• Beal Bank - 1.11% 1-year CD (Southeast FL)
• University of Iowa Community Credit Union - 1.10% ($250K) 1.00% ($100K) 0.90% ($1K) 13-month CD (several parts of Iowa)
• General Electric Credit Union - 1.02% ($100K) 1-year CD (Cincinnati OH metro)
• Health One Credit Union - 1.00% ($100K) 0.80% ($10K) 1-year CD (parts of MI)
• Your Community Credit Union - 1.00% ($100K) 1-year CD (Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston, TX)
• Capital One Bank - 1.00% 12-mo Checking intro rate up to $100K (parts of TX, DE, MD, DC, NJ, NY and VA)

18-month CD Rates

• Ally Bank - 1.34% (1.51% 5-year CD closed after 18 months, see review & risks)
• Barclays - 1.17% (1.75% 5-year CD closed after 18 months, see review & risks)
• GE Capital Retail Bank (formerly MetLife) - 1.05% ($100K) 1.00% ($15K) 18-month CD
• Doral Bank Direct - 1.03% 18-month CD, account review

• Noteworthy Local Deals

• Gulf Coast Federal Credit Union - 1.65% 18-month CD (Corpus Christi, TX metro)
• Libertad Bank - 1.50% 15-month CD special (Texas)
• Doral Bank NY - 1.25% 18-month CD (NYC)

2-Year CD Rates

• Ally Bank - 1.38% (1.51% 5-year CD closed after 2 years, see review & risks)
• Barclays - 1.31% (1.75% 5-year CD closed after 2 years, see review & risks)
• Connexus Credit Union - 1.30% 2-year CD w/active chk
• CIT Bank - 1.20% ($25K min) add-on & bump-up 2-year CD
• GE Capital Retail Bank (formerly MetLife) - 1.15% ($15K) 2-year CD
• Northwest Federal Credit Union - 1.15% ($100K) 1.05% ($25K) 2-year CD (+0.25% w/relationship)

• Noteworthy Local Deals

• Gulf Coast Federal Credit Union - 1.85% 2-year CD (Corpus Christi, TX metro)
• Doral Bank NY - 1.45% 2-year CD (NYC)
• SharePlus Federal Bank - 1.50% ($25K-$50K max) You Choose 2-year CD (parts of TX, CA & KY) account review
• LOMTO Federal Credit Union - 1.40% 2-year CD (parts of New York City)
• University of Iowa Community Credit Union - 1.30% ($250K) 1.20% ($100K) 1.10% ($1K) 25-month CD (several parts of Iowa)
• BrightStar Credit Union - 1.25% 23-month CD (+0.25% w/chk relationship) (parts of Southeast FL)

3-Year CD Rates

• Wilshire State Bank - 2.28% 3-year installment savings account w/auto xfers, $100K max (account review)
• Connexus Credit Union - 1.75% 3-year CD w/active chk
• State Bank of India - Chicago - 1.51% ($95K) 1.41% ($2.5K) 3-year CD
• Barclays - 1.46% (1.75% 5-year CD closed after 3 years, see review & risks)
• Ally Bank - 1.43% (1.51% 5-year CD closed after 3 years, see review & risks)
• Andrews Federal Credit Union - 1.41% 3-year CD
• Melrose Credit Union - 1.36% 3-year CD
• Barclays - 1.35% 3-year CD
• CIT Bank - 1.35% ($100K) 1.21% ($1K) 3-year CD
• Northwest Federal Credit Union - 1.30% ($100K) 1.20% ($25K) 3-year CD (+0.25% w/relationship)

• Noteworthy Local Deals

• NavyArmy Community Credit Union - 2.50% 30-month CD (Corpus Christi, TX metro)
• Gulf Coast Federal Credit Union - 2.02% 3-year CD (Corpus Christi, TX metro)
• SharePlus Federal Bank - 2.00% ($50K max) 3-year CD (parts of TX, CA & KY) account review
• University of Iowa Community Credit Union - 1.60% ($250K) 1.50% ($100K) 1.40% ($1K) 37-month CD (several parts of Iowa)
• Department of Commerce FCU - 1.60% 3-year CD (Washington DC)
• Doral Bank NY - 1.55% 3-year CD (NYC)
• LOMTO Federal Credit Union - 1.55% 3-year CD (parts of New York City)
• SharePlus Federal Bank - 1.50% ($25K-$50K max) You Choose 3-year CD (parts of TX, CA & KY) account review

4-Year CD Rates

• Andrews Federal Credit Union - 1.71% 4-year CD
• Melrose Credit Union - 1.61% 4-year CD
• Barclays - 1.55% 4-year CD
• Alliant Credit Union - 1.55% 4-year CD
• Barclays - 1.53% (1.75% 5-year CD closed after 4 years, see review & risks)
• Green Bank, N.A. - 1.50% 4-year CD
• GE Capital Retail Bank (formerly MetLife) - 1.50% ($100K) 1.40% ($2K) 18-month CD
• Nationwide Bank - 1.46% ($100K) 1.41% ($500) 4-year CD
• Ally Bank - 1.45% (1.51% 5-year CD closed after 4 years, see review & risks)
• Ally Bank - 1.30% Raise-Your-Rate 4-year CD

• Noteworthy Local Deals

• SharePlus Federal Bank - 2.00% ($50K max) 4-year CD (parts of TX, CA & KY) account review
• Institution For Savings - 2.00% 4-year CD (parts of MA)
• University of Iowa Community Credit Union - 1.95% ($250K) 1.85% ($100K) 1.75% ($1K) 50-month CD (several parts of Iowa)
• University of Iowa Community Credit Union - 1.80% ($250K) 1.70% ($100K) 1.60% ($1K) 49-month CD (several parts of Iowa)
• Department of Commerce FCU - 1.80% 4-year CD (Washington DC)
• LOMTO Federal Credit Union - 1.75% 4-year CD (parts of New York City)
• Police and Fire Federal Credit Union - 1.75% 4-year CD (Pennsylvania)
• HAPO Community Credit Union - 1.75% 4-year CD (all of Washington State)
• Doral Bank NY - 1.65% 4-year CD (NYC)
• Shell Federal Credit Union - 1.60% ($50K) 1.55% ($500) 4-year CD (Houston, TX)

5-Year CD Rates

• Stanford Federal Credit Union - 2.02% ($100K) 5-year CD, requires chk w/dd, account review
• Mountain America Credit Union - 2.00% 5-year CD, account review
• Connexus Credit Union - 2.00% 5-year CD w/active chk
• Andrews Federal Credit Union - 1.91% 5-year CD
• Melrose Credit Union - 1.86% 5-year CD
• Green Bank, N.A. - 1.85% 5-year CD
• State Department Federal Credit Union - 1.76% 5-year IRA CD, 1.66% 5-year CD
• Barclays - 1.75% 5-year CD
• CIT Bank - 1.75% ($100K) 1.60% ($1K) 5-year CD
• GE Capital Retail Bank (formerly MetLife) - 1.75% ($100K) 1.65% ($25K) 18-month CD
• Ally Bank - 1.51% 5-year CD

• Noteworthy Local Deals

• American Airlines Credit Union - 2.47% 5-yr/1.46% 2.5-yr CD ladder (limited membership)
• Security First Credit Union - 2.43% ($50K) 2.38% ($10K) 5-year CD (South Texas)
• Progressive Credit Union - 2.32% 5-year CD (NYC with unique FOM), account review
• Ukrainian Selfreliance FCU - 2.20% ($75K) 2.15% ($500) 5-year CD (Philadelphia, PA)
• Actors Federal Credit Union - 2.15% IRA 2.00% CD 5-year (SEG groups in LA, NYC & Chicago)
• Denver Community Credit Union - 2.10% ($50K) 1.85% ($100) 5-year CD (Denver County)
• Department of Commerce FCU - 2.05% 5-year CD (Washington DC)
• General Electric Credit Union - 2.03% 5-year CD (Cincinnati OH metro)
• City County Credit Union - 2.02% (2.28% for premium relationship) 5-year CD (many FL counties)
• Visions Federal Credit Union - 2.02% 5-year CD (2.28% w/relationship) (NY, PA & NJ)
• SharePlus Federal Bank - 2.00% ($50K max) 5-year CD (parts of TX, CA & KY) account review
• Institution For Savings - 2.00% 5-year CD (parts of MA)
• Dime Savings Bank - 2.00% 5-year IRA-only CD (NYC)
• Keesler Federal Credit Union - 2.00% ($100K) 1.90% ($1K) 5-year CD (MS)
• LOMTO Federal Credit Union - 2.00% 5-year CD (parts of New York City)
• Police and Fire Federal Credit Union - 2.00% 5-year CD (Pennsylvania)
• Security Service Federal Credit Union - 1.95% ($100K) 1.80% ($500) 5-year CD (parts of Texas, lower rates in CO and UT)
• Shell Federal Credit Union - 1.95% ($50K) 1.90% ($500) 5-year CD (Houston, TX)
• Miami Postal Service Credit Union - 1.91% 5-year CD (Southeast FL)
• Freedom Credit Union - 1.85% add-on 5-year CD (Philadelphia)

Over 5-Year CD Rates

• Discover Bank - 1.95% 10-year CD
• Air Force FCU - 1.90% ($100K) 1.75% ($2.5K) 7-year CD
• Apple Federal Credit Union - 1.90% 10-year CD
• Discover Bank - 1.85% 7-year CD
• Navy Federal Credit Union - 1.80% ($100K) 1.74% ($20K) 7-year CD (membership restrictions)
• Northrop Grumman FCU - 1.79% ($40K) 1.64% ($2.5K) 7-year CD
• iGObanking.com - 1.75% 7-year CD
• Navy Federal Credit Union - 1.70% ($100K) 1.65% ($20K) 6-year CD (membership restrictions)
• Apple Federal Credit Union - 1.65% 7-year CD
• Pentagon Federal Credit Union - 1.25% 7-year CD

• Noteworthy Local Deals

• Security Service Federal Credit Union - 2.30% ($100K) 2.15% ($500) 7-year CD (parts of Texas, lower rates in CO and UT)
• Workers Credit Union - 2.25% 6-year CD w/chk+dd (MA & Southern NH)
• SACU - 2.20% ($90K) 2.15% ($10K) 10-year CD (San Antonio, TX)
• Gateway Metro Federal Credit Union - 2.05% 6-year CD (St. Louis metro)
• Gesa Credit Union - 2.02% 7-year CD (Washington State)
• Amplify Credit Union - 2.00% ($100K) 1.50% ($50K) 7-year CD (Austin, TX)
• Columbia Bank - 2.00% 7-year CD (New Jersey)
• Mansfield Bank - 2.00% 8-year CD (Massachusetts)
• Columbia Bank - 2.00% 6-year IRA CD 1.85% 6-year CD (New Jersey)
• Randolph-Brooks Federal Credit Union - 1.92% ($75K) 1.92% ($1K) 7-year CD (San Antonio & Austin, TX)
• SACU - 1.80% ($100K) 1.75% ($10K) 7-year (San Antonio, TX)
• Randolph-Brooks Federal Credit Union - 1.71% ($75K) 1.71% ($1K) 6-year CD (San Antonio & Austin, TX)
• Dime Savings Bank - 1.70% 7-year CD (NYC)

Note: All rates listed above are Annual Percentage Yields (APY) which factor in compounding.

In addition to the Fed policies, deposit growth and competition are likely factors that affected Barclays’ decision. Last November, Barclays reported that it had exceeded its deposit goals with a billion dollars in deposits. Although I wasn’t able to get more details on Barclays’ deposit growth last month, it appears deposit growth was still exceeding expectations. That’s rarely good news for depositors. Also, with few internet banks offering 1.00% savings account rates, there’s no big need for Barclays to keep the 1.00% APY. In fact, the new 0.90% APY is still competitive. It’s higher than the savings account rates from all of the big internet banks such as Ally Bank, Capital One 360 and Discover Bank.

There are now only four banks offering non-promo rates higher than 0.90%. These accounts are available nationwide, and there are no checking requirements. I excluded banks with small balance caps on their savings or money market accounts (like SmartyPig and Evantage Bank).

Rates as of 5/17/2013

• MyBankingDirect MMA - 1.05% APY ($5K)
• CIT Bank Savings Account - 1.00% APY ($25K) 0.90% ($100)
• SFGI Direct Savings Account - 0.94% APY ($500)
• Incredible Bank MMA - 0.91% APY ($2.5K to $250K)
• Barclays Savings Account - 0.90% APY

One question you may be asking is how long will 0.90% hold up? Will rate cuts continue to be rare at Barclays? If that’s the case, the 0.90% should hold for the rest of the year. That’s probably the best case that we can hope for.

If there are more rate cuts to come in the near future, it may mirror what we have seen at TIAA Direct. TIAA Direct’s 1.25% APY held from its launch through 2012. Then the rate started to fall in January with additional cuts in March and April. The rate is now down to 0.76%.

The worst case scenario for rate cuts is what we’ve seen at UFB Direct and CNB Direct. High rates held steady for quite a while before we saw a quick fall. Then all of a sudden, the rates plummeted to levels that are very low for internet banks.

In my opinion, Barclays will probably follow the first scenario in which rate cuts will be rare. However, if we see more cuts in the next few months, we’ll know they probably don’t have intentions to remain rate leaders. As we have learned over these years, you can’t be attached to any one bank or credit union. Rate leaders rarely last for more than a year. If you want the best savings or money market rates, you should plan to be moving your money at least once a year.

Edit: Removed Citizens State Bank MMA

The 18-month CD special has been replaced with a 15-month CD special. The CD has a 1.50% APY. Minimum deposit is $1,000, and the maximum deposit is $90,000. This special is listed at the bank’s CD specials page as of 5/16/2013.

Availability - Texas Residents Only

When Libertad Bank was offering its 18-month CD special, it was just available to Texas residents. Texas customers were able to open the account using the online application, and they did not have to visit the branch. Update: I just confirmed that Libertad Bank is only opening accounts for Texas residents (just like last year). Please be aware that small banks often change their policies on account availability.

Bank Overview

A few readers might remember Libertad Bank for its reward checking account, the Amazing Checking. Back in 2008 the bank was offering a top reward checking account that was available nationwide. It didn't last long. As I reported in 2009, the bank was forced to slash rates by the FDIC.

Libertad Bank is a small bank with one office located in Austin, Texas. It has an overall health score at DepositAccounts.com of 5 stars (out of 5) with a Texas ratio of 3.64% based on December 2012 data. Please refer to our financial overview of Libertad Bank for more details. The bank has been a FDIC member since 2006 (FDIC Certificate # 58082).

• $25 Sign up for Direct Deposit
• $25 Pay five bills with Bill Pay
• $25 Make 10 Cash and Check Card Transactions
• $25 Open a Treasury Market Account

The offer is valid on new personal checking accounts only. Payment will be made 60 days after account opening.

The bank does offer a free checking account with no monthly service fees and no minimum balance requirement. However, the Treasury Market Account has a $1,000 minimum balance requirement to avoid a $10 monthly service fee. This Treasury Market Account appears to be a money market account which allows for up to six withdrawals per month.

Availability

There’s an online application, but the bank primarily caters to those in their market area which the bank defines as 60 miles from the bank’s branches in Devils Lake, Towner, Fargo, West Fargo, North Dakota, or Chandler and Casa Grande, Arizona.

Bank Overview

Western State Bank has an overall health score at DepositAccounts.com of 5 stars (out of 5) with a Texas ratio of 2.07% (excellent) based on December 2012 data. Please refer to our financial overview of Western State Bank for more details. The bank has been a FDIC member since 1934 (FDIC Certificate # 9123).

Other Bank Bonuses

We have a bank promotions page with a table of all of the active bank and credit union promotions. You can filter the table based on the type of promotion and based on your state. I have more details about how to use this page in this blog post.

You can view my latest bank bonus blog posts in this bank bonus page. I and DepositAccounts.com readers often post on bonuses in the checking account deals forum.

KeyBank doesn’t have the best reputation among many DA readers. You can read the problems customers have experienced in the comments of my 2012 KeyBank post and in my 2011 KeyBank post. If you have experience with KeyBank promotions and checking accounts, please leave a comment below.

Here's the KeyBank promotions page. The offer is scheduled to last until June 14, 2013. Like last year, it requires quite a bit of work:

• Open a qualifying KeyBank checking account online and enter offer code ONVM0413 by June 14, 2013, and
• Make at least 30 payments and/or purchases within 3 months of account opening, plus
• Make 3 direct deposits each of $500 or more within 3 months of account opening

If you click on the "Compare All Checking Accounts" link in the promo page, you can compare the qualifying checking accounts. All have potential monthly service charges. You can avoid monthly fees on the Key Express Checking by making at least $500 in deposits or initiating seven transactions per statement cycle.

Below is the offer's small print:

Between 4/15/2013 and 6/14/2013, you must open a Key Express (this is the basic banking account in NY), Key Coverage, Key Advantage, Key Privilege®, or Key Privilege Select Checking Account online and make at least 30 posted payments and/or purchases from the new checking account within three months of account opening, plus within three months of account opening make a total of three direct deposits each of $500 or more to get your gift. One month is calculated as 31 calendar days from account opening date (three months equals 93 calendar days from account opening date). Limit one gift per qualifying account. Limit one gift per individual. The value of your gift will be reported on Form 1099-INT. Your gift will be deposited within 90 days of meeting requirements. Qualifying purchase and payment transactions include checks, MasterCard® signature, PayPass® and PIN-based purchases, Key Bill Pay, debit card automated payments, PayPal® transactions, and Automated Clearing House (ACH) direct payments. Direct deposit transactions are limited to payroll, Social Security, pension, and government benefits. Offer not available to individuals who have had a KeyBank checking account in the last 12 months. Employees of KeyBank, its affiliates, and subsidiaries are not eligible for this offer. If you close your account within 180 days of account opening, you will be charged a $25.00 account early closure fee. Accounts overdrawn or closed as of 9/27/2013 are not eligible for this offer. Accounts titled as Trust Accounts, Estate, Non-Individual, and No Access are excluded from eligibility. Offer is subject to cancellation without notice and cannot be combined with any other offer. Other miscellaneous charges may apply.

Click on the FAQ link in the KeyBank promotions page for more details.

Online Application

When you apply online, you have to enter your zip code. Not all zip codes are accepted. Like previous KeyBank promos, it appears to be only available in areas where they have branches. KeyBank branches are located in the following states: Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Utah, Vermont, and Washington.

KeyBank Overview

KeyBank is a large bank with $87 billion in assets. It has an overall health score at DepositAccounts.com of 5 stars (out of 5) with a Texas Ratio of 8.06% (above average) based on December 2012 data. Please refer to our financial overview of KeyBank for more details. The bank has been a FDIC member since 1956 (FDIC Certificate # 17534).

Other Bank Bonuses

We have a bank promotions page with a table of all of the active bank and credit union promotions. You can filter the table based on the type of promotion and based on your state. I have more details about how to use this page in this blog post.

You can view my latest bank bonus blog posts in this bank bonus page. I and DepositAccounts.com readers often post on bonuses in the checking account deals forum.

After controlling more than 50 banks at its peak, Capitol Bancorp has reduced its subsidiary count to 12 banks through intra-company mergers and divestitures to outside parties. Primarily, the mergers and sales are designed to raise capital or avert a failure.

The CR blog post also describes the Cross-Guaranty statue which allows the FDIC to recoup losses to its deposit fund by assessing a claim against banks under common control for losses caused by the failure of an affiliated bank. In summary, all subsidiaries of a bank holding company can be at risk when any subsidiaries fail. With this Cross-Guaranty statue, the "FDIC can demand reimbursement for the cost of a failure against any of Capitol Bancorp's still open banking subsidiaries." That can trigger the failure of all banking subsidiaries. If we see more Capitol Bancorp subsidiaries fail this week, we'll know this Cross-Guaranty statue is likely being used by the FDIC.

Other than the Tuesday failure and the Cross-Guaranty issue, this bank failure was typical with another bank assuming all deposits. Even brokered deposits were assumed. The acquiring bank is Western State Bank. It's based in North Dakota, but it has two branches in Arizona. So it looks like it's wanting to expand its Arizona presence.

The FDIC had the following message in its Q&As for this bank failure:

No one lost any money on deposit as a result of the closure of this bank. All deposits, regardless of dollar amount, were transferred to Western State Bank.

CD customers of the Central Arizona Bank will have to wait to see what happens with their rates. Western State Bank may reduce rates on the existing CDs. However, customers will be allowed to make a penalty-free early withdrawal.

Below is the summary of Tuesday's bank failure:

13th Bank Failure of 2013 (2nd in Arizona) (5/14/2013)

• Closed Bank: Central Arizona Bank, Scottsdale, AZ
• FDIC Press Release
• Size: 1 branch, $31.6 million in assets and $30.8 million in deposits
• Acquiring Bank: Western State Bank, Devils Lake, ND
• Possible Uninsured Deposits: all deposit accounts, including brokered deposits, have been assumed by Western State Bank (FDIC Q&A)
• Rate Changes: Central Arizona Bank's rates will be reviewed by Western State Bank and may be lowered (FDIC Q&A)
• Estimated Cost to Deposit Insurance Fund: $8.6 million
• Enforcement Action: FDIC 2/8/10 Consent Order, FDIC 2/22/11 PCA
• Financial Ratings: 1 star at Bankrate.com, 0 star at BauerFinancial, 1 star & Texas Ratio of 165.94% at DepositAccounts.com (see financial rating note)

Financial Ratings Notes: 0 star is lowest at BauerFinancial, 1 star is lowest at DepositAccounts.com & Bankrate.com, Texas Ratios over 100% is considered at risk. Ratings at DepositAccounts.com, at Bankrate.com and at BauerFinancial are based on December 31, 2012 data.

References:

• FDIC list of failed banks
• Texas Ratios for banks and credit unions
• Latest FDIC info on deposit insurance
• My bank failure review posts
• Review of the 2012 bank and credit union failures
• Review of the 2011 bank and credit union failures
• Review of the 2010 bank and credit union failures
• 10 Lessons from the 2008 bank failures

Unfortunately, not all of GE Capital Retail Bank CD rates went up. The 18-month CD rate fell from 1.10% to 1.05% APY for a $100K deposit and from 1.10% to 1.00% APY for a $15K deposit. This is still competitive, but the 12-month CD is the best deal for those who prefer a short-term CD. The 12-month CD still has a 1.05% APY for a $25K minimum deposit. This is one of the top rates for internet banks.

The bank’s CD early withdrawal penalties are fair. According to the bank’s disclosure:

For a CD with a term of twelve months or less, the penalty will be an amount equal to 90 days simple interest on the amount withdrawn at the current rate. For a CD with a term of more than twelve months, the penalty will be an amount equal to 180 days simple interest on the amount withdrawn at the current rate.

In January MetLife officially became GE Capital Retail Bank. As I mentioned in January, the products remained the same including the CDs, IRAs and money market accounts. In addition, they are still offering a free identity theft resolution service for deposit customers.

GE Capital Retail Bank’s main office is located in Draper, Utah. The bank has been around for awhile. It was established with FDIC insurance in 1988. However, it has not been in the retail deposit-taking business before the MetLife Bank acquisition. Its business focus has been on providing customized credit programs to retailers and consumers.

The bank has an overall health score at DepositAccounts.com of 5 stars (out of 5) with a Texas ratio of 7.98% (excellent) based on December 2012 data. Please refer to our financial overview of GE Capital Retail Bank for more details.

Can I receive interest disbursements from my CD?

Yes, you can receive an interest disbursement from your CD account on a monthly basis. You have the option to keep interest in your CD account or transfer it to your Barclays Online Savings account or a verified external account.

It’s nice to see Barclays is making improvements like this. It helps a little to offset the negative change that we saw in March when Barclays announced a larger early withdrawal penalty for new CDs with terms over 2 years. The EWP for these CDs increased from 90 days to 180 days of interest.

Barclays 5-year CD remains as one of the best deals for internet banks. As of 5/14/2013, it has a 1.75% APY with no minimum deposit requirement. Some of the other internet banks that offer this rate require a $100K minimum deposit. I’ve also found that Barclays’ CDs are very easy to open and fund using the bank’s online application.

Barclays savings account is also one of the best deals for internet banks. As of 5/14/2013, it has a 1.00% APY with no minimum balance requirement. The main issues that readers have reported are a slow ACH transfer service (5 days have been reported) and a 5-day hold when using Barclays ACH service. I looked into the history of Barclays and what we can expect in the future in this blog post.

Bank Overview

The Barclays internet bank is part of Barclays Bank Delaware which is a FDIC member (FDIC Certificate # 57203). The bank is best known in the U.S. for partnering with companies in offering co-branded credit cards. It's part of the U.S. division of Barclays, a British multinational megabank.

Barclays Bank Delaware has an overall health score at DepositAccounts.com of 5 stars (out of 5) with a Texas ratio of 5.37% (excellent) based on December 2012 data. Please refer to our financial overview of Barclays Bank Delaware for more details. The bank has been a FDIC member since 2001.

Many of you asked if relationship pricing could be considered when placing fees on your IncredibleBank Checking account, which will now go in effect June 11th 2013 instead of June 1st. We are all about building a relationship with you, therefore we changed the requirements to the following:

* A maintenance fee of $15.00 may be charged if the average collected balance of the account falls below $300.00 during the statement cycle.
* The maintenance fee may be waived if the average collected balance of your total deposit accounts is $5,000 or more during the statement cycle.

What this means for you, is if you carry $5,000 or more throughout all of your IncredibleBank accounts (Money Market, CD, or Checking) the $15.00 fee may be waived.

As I mentioned when this fee was first announced, I was worried that this fee may hit several Incredible Bank customers who had moved their money from the checking account to Incredible Bank’s money market account for the higher rate. This latest fee change should prevent this from happening.

This new fee also highlights the potential problem of leaving old accounts opened. When accounts no longer have the top rates, it’s common for rate chasers to move most of their money to other banks. When accounts have no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements, it’s easy to just leave them opened with a small balance. If you don’t keep an eye on the accounts, you could be surprised by fees. Even if the bank doesn’t add a monthly maintenance fee, they may have an inactivity fee. So if you find you’re not paying attention to old accounts, it’s probably best to close them.

Update 5/14/13: Incredible Bank reduced its rates late Monday. The checking account rate fell from 0.81% to 0.71% and the money market rate fell from 0.96% to 0.91%.

The details are listed in the credit union’s offers page. The small print is hard to read, so I copied it below:

Must be a member of Credit Union to take advantage of the offer. Membership eligibility required. $77 incentive only valid when opening a new Free Checking account with direct deposit of net pay. Offer excludes HD and Experience Checking. Incentive payment will occur after direct deposit is paid into the account and 60 days has elapsed. One incentive per SSN. No-purchase necessary; offer subject to credit approval. Offer subject to change without notice. Offer valid through 5/31/13. After 5/31/13 offer amount will be reduced to $25. Must have promo code printed on this mailer to redeem offer. Contact Credit Union for complete program details. Account opening incentives may be reported as taxable income. Credit Union will provide an IRS form 1099 to qualified participants. Federally Insured by NCUA.

Credit union membership is open to everyone who live, work, worship, volunteer, or attend school or regularly conduct business in Erie or Crawford counties of PA. Please refer to the credit union’s membership page for more details.

Even though the HD Checking account doesn’t qualify for this promotion, you may still want to consider this account. It has a long history as a top reward checking account. I first reported on it in 2008 when it had a 5% APY for balances up to $25K. The rate has fallen, but it’s still a good deal compared with other reward checking accounts. It now pays 3.04% APY for up to $25K as of 5/13/2013. Account details are listed in the credit unions HD Checking page.

The credit union just recently changed its name from Erie General Electric Credit Union to Widget Financial Credit Union. It has been common for credit unions to distance themselves from companies. As the credit unions expand their fields of membership, they don’t want to sound like they only serve one company.

The credit union has an overall health score at DepositAccounts.com of 5 stars (out of 5) with a Texas ratio of 3.21% (excellent) based on December 2012 data. Please refer to our financial overview of Widget Financial Credit Union for the full details. The credit union is federally insured by the NCUA (Charter # 1117).

Other Credit Union and Bank Bonuses

We have a bank promotions page with a table of all of the active bank and credit union promotions. You can filter the table based on the type of promotion and based on your state. I have more details about how to use this page in this blog post.

You can view my latest bank bonus blog posts in this bank bonus page. I and DA members often post on bonuses in the checking account deals forum.

Credit unions, like banks, are federally insured financial institutions that provide banking services and loans for their members. They are non-for-profit cooperatives that are owned by all the members, as opposed to banks, which are generally owned by shareholders.

“Credit unions are often viewed as stodgy, low tech places that offer services like Christmas savings accounts and vacation loans. But, they can, and do offer much more than that,” says Coleen Pantalone, associate dean with the D'Amore-McKim School of Business at Northeastern University in Boston.

It's not your father's credit union. You may have some wrong ideas about credit unions because there are myths out there that are just assumed to be true. Here's a look at the facts and the fiction.

Myth: Credit unions are exactly the same as banks

Truth: Credit unions, are by definition, not-for-profit cooperative financial institutions owned and controlled by the members who do business with them. Profits are returned to members in the form of lower loan rates, explains David Beck, policy and media director of the Self-Help Credit Union.

Member-owners have equal voting rights when selecting the board of directors (one member, one vote), and any member in good standing may run for the board. Board members at most credit unions are unpaid volunteers. Banks, which are generally owned by outside shareholders, exist to make a profit for those shareholders. The board of directors usually receive compensation for their service, and exist to maximize shareholder value, says Beck.

While banks are insured by the FDIC, credit unions have their own form of insurance through the National Credit Union Administration. “If the crisis of 2008 and 2009 told us anything, credit unions may be safer,” says Trevor Shakiba, president of the wealth advisory firm, The Shakiba Group.

Myth: Only some people can join a credit union

Truth: “Many people still think you need to work for a certain company to join a credit union. That may have been trues in the 1960s, but many credit unions now have broad community charters, meaning that anyone who lives, works or worships in a city or region can be a member,” says Michael Poulos, president and CEO of Michigan First Credit Union. The rules were changed by Congress some 15 years ago to allow more people to access the benefits of credit union membership. To find a credit union in your community that you may be able to join, go to asmarterchoice.org and CULookup.com. Membership can be as little as $5 to join.

Myth: You can't get a variety of products and services

Truth: You can typically find the same sophisticated range of products and services as a bank and in much the same way a commercial bank might – online, using mobile apps, phone and in branches. Depending on the credit union, they may offer credit cards, debit, prepaid, online bill pay, mortgages, and more, says Ruth Susswein, deputy director, national priorities for Consumer Action.

Not only will you get a variety of products but you will likely get lower rates on credit cards and loans, lower minimum balances and services fees and higher interest rates on deposits than banks, says Karen Tyson, senior vice president marketing for the National Association of Federal Credit Unions.

“Credit union have significantly more flexibility to provide the best-possible lending opportunities for their members. They can review loan applications with their personal and community-specific insight, rather than having to follow strict national guidelines,” says Poulos.

There is a misperception that credit unions are not as technologically savvy as banks, but many credit unions see using technology to level the playing field against national banks, including online and mobile banking, remote deposit and a robust social media presence, says Poulos. “There are even areas where credit union technology surpasses what most national banks offer. At Michigan First, we have a network of MoneyWorks ATMs that allow for withdrawals in multiple denominations,” says Poulos.

A 2012 survey by Chadwick Martin Bailey found 85% of credit union customers were satisfied with their access to online and mobile banking services, compared to 66% of large national banks, according to Tyson.

Myth: Credit unions are not convenient

Truth: You might think that a local credit union with a small ATM network will leave you lagging when you hit the road. However, most credit unions are part of the Co-op Network, allowing you free access to more than 30,000 credit union and other ATMs nationwide, points out Poulos.

While some credit unions offer excellent customer service coverage, some still have limited hours of service in person and by phone, says Susswein.

Myth: Credit unions don't pay taxes

Truth: Credit unions are exempt from federal income taxes since they are not-for-profit and member owner. However, says Beck, credit unions do pay a variety of other taxes including social security and medicare taxes, and a variety of state and local taxes.

Says Pantalone, “For most people, credit unions are an excellent alternative to traditional banks. They offer the services most people need, they are convenient and they offer competitive rates and prices.”

Treasury 10-year note yields rose the most in two months as signs the U.S. economy is improving stoked speculation that there is no need for the Federal Reserve to ramp up monetary stimulus.

One of the signs of an improving economy was this week's jobless claims report. According to the Calculated Risk blog, the "4-week average is at the lowest level since the recession started in December 2007." Our best chance at higher rates will be if we see consistent and strong improvements in employment. However, that is still likely to be a long way off. As mentioned in the WSJ Real Time Economics blog:

Layoffs have normalized in recent months, reducing claims, but hiring remains spotty amid fears of further economic turmoil and higher health-care costs.

I think the best we can hope for is higher rates sometime in 2015. The Fed fund futures indicate a 67% chance of a Fed rate hike by September 2015. This is up from 51% last week.

The Treasury yield changes over the last week and the expectation of future Fed funds rates are shown below. Numbers are based on Daily Treasury Yield Curve Rates and the CME Group FedWatch.

Treasury Yields:

• 6-month: 0.08% same as last week
• 2--year: 0.26% up from 0.22% last week
• 5--year: 0.82% up from 0.73% last week
• 10-year: 1.90% up from 1.78% last week
• 30-year: 3.10% up from 2.96% last week

Fed funds futures' probability of rate hike by:

• Jan 2015: 28% up from 23% last week
• Sep 2015: 67% up from 51% last week

The FDIC was back in action this Friday with two bank closures. The total number of bank failures for the year is now 12. At this time last year there had already been 23 bank failures, and at this time in 2011, there had been 40 bank failures.

Savings & Checking Account Rates

This was another week with no rate cuts for the nationally available savings and money market accounts on my list. That's a stark contrast from the CD rates. As I reported yesterday, there were many CD rate cuts this week. So this continues to make savings accounts look more appealing than CDs. One example is PenFed's 7-year CD. Would anyone consider opening a 1.25% APY 7-year CD when it's easy to get 1% APY from an internet savings account?

The best non-promo rate for large balances continues to be Connexus Credit Union's Y.E.S. Money Market. It has a 1.15% APY for balances over $100K and 1.00% APY for balances of $50K to under $100K. The downside is that it requires an active checking account with direct deposit.

The highest rate without a checking requirement and without balance caps continues to be MyBankingDirect's money market account. It still has a 1.05% APY. This APY has held since June 2012. Its rates have been remained near the top of my list since June 2011.

Reward Checking Accounts

No reward checking accounts on my list of nationally available accounts had rate cuts or balance cap cuts this week. However, we are still seeing cuts for the local reward checking accounts, and you can view the latest in the reward checking subforum. I reviewed some of the headwinds that are impacting reward checking accounts on Tuesday. They're not all due to the low interest rate environment.

We are still seeing new reward checking accounts launched by community banks and credit unions. I reviewed one of these this week. It's the Kasasa Cash account from Members Exchange Credit Union in Mississippi. The Kasasa Cash account has a top rate of 3.25% APY, but like many new reward checking accounts, its balance cap of $10K is disappointing.

To find the highest reward checking rates and balance caps in your state or nationwide, please refer to our reward checking rate table. If you're new to these tables, my rate table guide should be useful. If you're new to reward checking, please refer to my blog post, 10 Common Traits of High-Yield Reward Checking.

Rate Hikes:

1. None

Rate/Balance Cap Cuts:

1. None

Certificate of Deposit Rates

My recap of CD rate changes and the list of CD deals will now be in my survey of the best CD rates. This recap will now focus on banking news of the week and liquid accounts.

Recap for the Week - Links to This Week's Posts

• Two Small Banks Closed By Regulators in North Carolina and Georgia
• Insuring Bank Deposits Over $250,000 With Multiple Ownership Categories
• The Future of Bank Branches? How Often Do You Visit a Branch?
• Complications at Wells Fargo When a Bank Account Lacks a Beneficiary
• Liquidation of a Virginia Credit Union Shows Risks of Small Credit Unions
• Millennials - Never Too Early to Start Saving

• No new posts this week

• Survey of the Best CD Rates for May 10, 2013

• Charter One & Citizens Bank $175 Checking Account Promotion for Several States

• Future of Free Checking and Reward Checking Accounts
• Competitive Reward Checking at Members Exchange Credit Union in MS

• 6-Month CD Special with Top Rate at Prairieland FCU in Illinois

• Archive of 2013 Posts

The rates listed below are based on Annual Percentage Yield (APY). No minimum balances are required unless noted. MMA next to the rates indicate a money market account. Most MMAs have check writing and ATM cards. Online savings accounts usually lack both of these. Previous weekly summaries are available at this page.

Rates as of May 11, 2013

Checking/Savings/Money Market Accounts:

• Best Savings Account Rates (Nationwide & by State)
• Best Money Market Rates (Nationwide & by State)
• Best Checking Account Rates (Nationwide & by State)

• How to View Rates for Your State

• Noteworthy Accounts Available Nationwide:

• EverBank - 1.25% MMA/Checking (6mo intro rate) 0.76% ongoing rate, account review
• Connexus Credit Union - 1.15% ($100K) 1.00% ($50K) 0.75% ($20K) active chk required
• Evantage Bank - 1.10% MMA (up to $35K) 0.50% (over $35K)
• AmericaNet Bank - 1.10% MMA (up to $35K) 0.50% (over $35K)
• Redneck Bank - 1.10% MMA (up to $35K) 0.50% (over $35K)
• MyBankingDirect - 1.05% (min $5K)
• SmartyPig - 1.00% ($50K max), account review
• Barclays - 1.00% Savings account review
• CIT Bank - 1.00% ($25K) 0.90% ($100) Savings, account review
• Incredible Bank - 0.96% MMA ($2.5K min) account review
• SFGI Direct - 0.94% account review
• Salem Five Direct - 0.90% savings, for new customers only
• Union Federal Savings Bank - 0.90% MMA (min $2.5K) account review
• Sallie Mae Bank - 0.90% MMA account review
• Mutual of Omaha Bank - 0.85% Savings (min $25) account review
• AloStar Bank of Commerce - 0.85% ($50K) 0.50% ($0) MMA Advantage
• Sallie Mae Bank - 0.85% Savings account review
• GE Capital Retail Bank (formerly MetLife) - 0.85% ($25K) 0.80% ($10K) Savings
• FNBO Direct - 0.85% Savings
• Capital One 360 - 0.85% ($100K) 0.80% ($50K) 360 Checking
• Colorado Federal Savings Bank - 0.85% ($2.5K min) account review
• American Express Bank - 0.85%, account review
• ableBanking - 0.85% MMA (min $1K)
• Ally Bank - 0.84% MMA/savings
• Incredible Bank - 0.81% Checking ($1K min) account review
• Discover Bank - 0.80% Savings (min $500) account review
• Clear Sky Accounts - 0.80% (max $250K) account review
• Nationwide Bank - 0.76% MMA (min $1K)
• TIAA Direct - 0.76% MMA/Savings (not accepting new customers) account review
• Capital One 360 - 0.75% 360 Savings
• Bank of Internet USA - 0.75% MMA
• Alliant Credit Union - 0.70% (min $100) Savings account review
• Alliant Credit Union - 0.65% Checking (req's elec. dep & e-stmts) account review

Reward Checking Accounts:

• Best Reward Checking Account Rates for a $10,000 Balance - Nationally Available
• Best Reward Checking Account Rates for a $25,000 Balance - Nationally Available

• How to View Rates for Your State

• Noteworthy Accounts Available Nationwide:

• Great Lakes Credit Union - 4.00% (up to $10K) 0.05% ($10K+) Ultimate Checking
• Belvoir FCU - 3.25% (up to $15K) 0.05% ($15K+) CUXcel Checking
• Consumers Credit Union - 3.09% (up to $5K) 0.20% ($5K-$25K) 0.10% ($25K+)
• Money One Federal Credit Union - 3.01% (up to $10K) 0.51% ($10K+)
• Lake Michigan Credit Union - 3.00% (up to $15K) 0.00% ($15K+)
• Capital Educators Federal Credit Union - 2.50% (up to $10K) 0.20% ($10K+)
• ABCO Federal Credit Union - 2.02% (up to $25K) 0.20% ($25K+)
• INOVA Federal Credit Union - 2.00% (up to $20K) 0.15% ($20K+)
• Evantage Bank - 2.00% (up to $10K) 0.50% (over $10K)
• AmericaNet Bank - 2.00% (up to $10K) 0.50% (over $10K)
• Redneck Bank - 2.00% (up to $10K) 0.50% (over $10K)
• American Savings Bank, fsb - 2.00% (up to $15K) 0.25% ($15K+) Kasasa Cash
• Provident Credit Union - 1.76% (up to $25K) 0.11% ($25K+)
• Pacific Resource Credit Union - 1.75% (up to $15K) 0.50% ($15K+)
• Community Bank of Pleasant Hill - 1.75% (up to $10K) 0.35% ($10K+)
• Community Bank of Raymore - 1.75% (up to $10K) 0.35% ($10K+)
• Connexus Credit Union - 1.75% (up to $25K) 0.31% ($25K+) Xtraordinary Checking
• First Tech Federal Credit Union - 1.58% (up to $10K) 0.16% ($10K+)
• BofI Federal Bank (affinity groups) - 1.50% (up to $150K) 0.00% ($150K+)
• Avidia Bank - 1.36% (up to $25K) 0.05% ($25K+)
• Heritage Bank - 1.26% (up to $25K) 0.05% ($25K+)
• West Texas National Bank - 1.26% (up to $25K) 0.25% ($25K+)
• Bank of Internet USA - 1.25% (up to $150K) 0.00% ($150K+)
• Bank of Blue Valley - 1.25% (up to $15K) 0.10% ($15K+), $1K/month debit card req (account review)
• First New England Federal Credit Union - 1.25% (up to $15K) 0.10% ($15K+) (extra 1% w/relationship)
• BankFirst Financial Services - 1.24% (up to $50K) 0.15% ($50K+)
• North Country Savings Bank - 1.05% (up to $25K) 0.75% ($25K+)
• Legence Bank - 1.05% (up to $25K) 0.25% ($25K+)
• State Bank of Toledo - 1.00% (up to $25K) 0.15% ($25K+)

Certificates of Deposit:

• Best CD Rates (Nationwide & by State)
• Best IRA CD Rates (Nationwide & by State)

• How to View Rates for Your State

• Survey of the Best CD Rates for May 10, 2013 (Nationwide & Local)

Various Deposit Account Deals

• Bank Promotions
• Best IRA CD rates, local and nationwide deals
• Latest CD and Savings Account Deals with No Major Deposit Limitiations

Bank Account Alternatives - NOT FDIC Insured

• Investment Discussion Forum

• Duke Energy PremierNotes - 1.50% rate for $50K+, Duke Energy PremierNotes review
• Ally Financial Demand Notes - 1.50%, Ally Demand Notes review
• Ford Interest Advantage - 1.10% rate for $50k+, Ford Interest Advantage review
• GE Interest Plus - 1.10% rate for $50k+
• Vanguard Tax-Exempt Money Market Fund - 0.04% 7-day yield
• Vanguard Prime Money Market Fund - 0.01% 7-day yield
• Fidelity Money Market Fund - 0.01% 7-day yield (reviews on Fatwallet)
• Fidelity Municipal Money Market Fund - 0.01% 7-day yield
• TIAA-CREF Money Market Fund - 0.00% 7-day yield
• PayPal Money Market Fund has ended effective 7/29/11
• FW Thread on Treasury Bills
• Series I Savings Bond Purchases from May to October 2013, I Bond Article, I Bonds as CD Alternatives

The first bank that failed this Friday was Pisgah Community Bank, Asheville, North Carolina. That was the second bank failure of the year for North Carolina. The other failed bank, Sunrise Bank, was the third bank failure of the year for Georgia.

As has been common this year, both of the failed banks were community banks. The largest was Sunrise Bank with just $60.8 million in assets.

Both bank closures were typical with the FDIC arranging for another bank to assume all deposits for each failed bank. All brokered deposits of the two failed banks were also assumed. For both of the failed banks, the FDIC had the following message in its Q&As:

No one lost any money on deposit as a result of the closure of this bank. All deposits, regardless of dollar amount, were transferred to [the new bank].

CD customers of the failed banks will have to wait to see what happens with their rates. The acquiring banks may reduce rates on the existing CDs. However, customers will be allowed to make a penalty-free early withdrawal.

Credit Union Liquidation

On May 3rd, the NCUA liquidated Lynrocten Federal Credit Union of Lynchburg, Virginia. That's the sixth credit union liquidation of the year. As I described in my Monday review, the liquidation may have been due to criminal activity. There's a little more information on the liquidation in this Lynchburg newspaper. One interesting bit of news is how the NCUA is paying depositors:

Lynrocten members with more than $1,500 deposited will need to fill out and submit a member confirmation and affidavit form before their balance is processed and returned to them, Fairbanks said.

Those with less than $1,500 in savings at the credit union should receive a check this week

So it looks like it may take multiple weeks for some members to receive their insured deposits.

Below is the summary of the bank and credit union failures:

11th Bank Failure of 2013 (2nd in North Carolina)

• Closed Bank: Pisgah Community Bank, Asheville, NC
• FDIC Press Release
• Size: 1 branch, $21.9 million in assets and $21.2 million in deposits
• Acquiring Bank: Capital Bank, National Association, Rockville, MD
• Possible Uninsured Deposits: all deposit accounts, including brokered deposits, have been assumed by Capital Bank, N.A. (FDIC Q&A)
• Rate Changes: Pisgah Community Bank’s rates will be reviewed by Capital Bank, N.A., and may be lowered (FDIC Q&A)
• Estimated Cost to Deposit Insurance Fund: $8.9 million
• Enforcement Action: FDIC 5/5/10 Consent Order, FDIC 1/20/12 PCA
• Financial Ratings: 1 star at Bankrate.com, 0 star at BauerFinancial, 1 star & Texas Ratio of 260.44% at DepositAccounts.com (see financial rating note)

12th Bank Failure of 2013 (3rd in Georgia)

• Closed Bank: Sunrise Bank, Valdosta, GA
• FDIC Press Release
• Size: 3 branches, $60.8 million in assets and $57.8 million in deposits
• Acquiring Bank: Synovus Bank, Columbus, GA
• Possible Uninsured Deposits: all deposit accounts, including brokered deposits, have been assumed by Synovus Bank (FDIC Q&A)
• Rate Changes: Sunrise Bank’s rates will be reviewed by Synovus Bank and may be lowered (FDIC Q&A)
• Estimated Cost to Deposit Insurance Fund: $17.3 million
• Enforcement Action: FDIC 1/8/10 Consent Order, FDIC 1/23/12 PCA
• Financial Ratings: 1 star at Bankrate.com, 0 star at BauerFinancial, 1 star & Texas Ratio of 369.03% at DepositAccounts.com (see financial rating note)

6th Credit Union Liquidated of 2013 (May 3)

• CU liquidated: Lynrocten Federal Credit Union of Lynchburg, VA
• Acquiring CU: None
• NCUA Press Release, My review
• Size: $13.8 million in assets, 1,068 members

Financial Ratings Notes: 0 star is lowest at BauerFinancial, 1 star is lowest at DepositAccounts.com & Bankrate.com, Texas Ratios over 100% is considered at risk. Ratings at DepositAccounts.com, at Bankrate.com and at BauerFinancial are based on December 31, 2012 data.

References:

• FDIC list of failed banks
• Texas Ratios for banks and credit unions
• Latest FDIC info on deposit insurance
• My bank failure review posts
• Review of the 2012 bank and credit union failures
• Review of the 2011 bank and credit union failures
• Review of the 2010 bank and credit union failures
• 10 Lessons from the 2008 bank failures

NexBank had been a rate leader for its short- and mid-term CDs. That changed this week. Rates fell from 15 to 25 basis points. Two examples of the cuts include a fall from 1.05% to 0.90% APY on the 12-month CD and a fall from 1.30% to 1.05% APY on the 24-month CD.

Other banks with CD rate cuts include Colorado Federal Savings Bank, Nationwide Bank and CIT Bank.

In addition to the banks, Navy Federal Credit Union cut its CD rates. The 7-year and 6-year CD rate cuts were the largest. The 7-year Jumbo CD rate fell from 1.95% to 1.80% APY.

The highest 5-year CD rate for a bank continues to be at Green Bank, N.A. with a 1.85% APY. Green Bank has an online application, but I don't consider this an internet bank. Managing the CD probably won't be as easy as a pure internet bank.

For nationally available CDs without checking account requirements, there are only two institutions offering 2% CDs. One is Mountain America Credit Union with a 2.00% APY 5-year CD, and the other is a 2.00% APY 7-year Jumbo CD at Air Force Federal Credit Union.

Local CD Deals

When there's a hot CD deal, it doesn't usually last long. That was the case with SharePlus Federal Bank and its 2% APY 1-year CD. That special is no longer listed on the bank's website. There was also a 2% APY 1-year Jumbo CD at Health One Credit Union in Michigan. That fell this week to 1.00%. Who would have thought seven years ago that we would be calling a 2% CD a hot deal?

There were also a couple of long-term CD rate cuts. Melrose Co-operative Bank in Massachusetts cut its 5- and 4-year CD yields from 2.00% to 1.75% and 1.50%. San Antonio Credit Union (SACU) had another rate cut this week on its 7-year CD. The Jumbo 7-year CD yield fell from 1.90% to 1.80%.

On a positive note, we had another small rate hike at HAPO Community Credit Union in Washington State. Its 4-year CD yield increased from 1.70% to 1.75%, and its 5-year CD yield increased from 1.80% to 1.85%.

I just added one new CD this week. It's a 1.06% APY 6-month Jumbo CD special at Prairieland Federal Credit Union. Membership is primarily limited to those in the Bloomington metro area of Illinois.

The best local deal continues to be the 2.50% APY 30-month CD at NavyArmy Community Credit Union. Membership is open to those who live, work, worship or attend school in one of several Texas counties that make up the Corpus Christi metro area.

Long-Term CD Break Strategy

For the short-term CDs in my lists, you might notice CDs with the note "5-year CD closed after X years". These take into account the yield after the early withdrawal penalty is applied. Since Ally Bank's 5-year CD only has a 60-day interest penalty, it's still a good deal when closed early even with the recent rate cuts.

If you want to compare the effective yields of other CDs after the early withdrawal penalties, please refer to our CD early withdrawal penalty calculator.

The risks of planning for early withdrawals of long-term CDs were recently highlighted by the deposit agreement change at Ally. The risks have also been seen at credit unions which have raised the early withdrawal penalties on existing CDs. I have more details in this blog post.

Note About the CD Survey

As I described in my rate table overview, you can use our CD rate tables to find the best rates for both nationally available CDs and local CDs. This CD survey blog posts are intended to highlight nationwide CD deals that may not be apparent in the tables. For example, I'll include the post-penalty yields of a few long-term CDs.

The CD survey blog posts are also intended to highlight the local CD deals that are available in large metro areas. There are many high CD rates, but most of these are at small banks in rural areas or at small credit unions with very narrow fields of membership. In these local CD surveys, my focus is on local CD deals that are in big cities or that are available in large areas of a state.

Yields Accurate as of May 10, 2013

Under 1-Year CD Rates

• EverBank - 1.25% checking/MMA intro 6-month rate ($100K/$50K max) account review
• Ally Bank - 1.01% (1.51% 5-year CD closed after 6 months, see review & risks)
• Connexus Credit Union - 1.00% 6-month CD w/active chk
• Doral Bank Direct - 0.92% 9-month CD, account review
• Doral Bank Direct - 0.88% 6-month CD, account review
• Ally Bank - 0.85% 11-month No-Penalty CD, see account review
• Colorado Federal Savings Bank - 0.70% 6-month CD
• Discover Bank - 0.70% 6-month CD

• Noteworthy Local Deals

• Quabbin Online Credit Union - 1.25% (max $100K) 6-month CD (parts of MA)
• PacTrust Bank - 1.25% ($250K) 1.00% ($100K) Savings Account intro rate until 12/31/13, account review (SoCal)
• Gulf Coast Federal Credit Union - 1.10% 6-month CD (Corpus Christi, TX metro)
• Prairieland Federal Credit Union - 1.06% ($100K) 6-month special CD (Central IL)
• Oritani Bank - 1.02% checking intro rate until 1/2/14 (Northeast NJ)
• Your Community Credit Union - 1.00% ($100K) 6-month CD (Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston, TX)
• CapitalSource Bank - 0.90% ($10K) 9-month CD (Southern California)

1-Year CD Rates

• Ally Bank - 1.26% (1.51% 5-year CD closed after 1 year, see review & risks)
• State Bank of India - Chicago - 1.16% ($95K) 1.05% ($2.5K) 1-year CD
• Connexus Credit Union - 1.10% 1-year CD w/active chk
• Triumph Savings Bank - 1.06% 1-year CD
• CIT Bank - 1.05% ($25K min) add-on & bump-up 1-year CD
• GE Capital Retail Bank (formerly MetLife) - 1.05% ($25K min) 1-year CD
• Citizens State Bank - 1.05% ($100K) 0.99% ($1K) 1-year CD, account review
• Colorado Federal Savings Bank - 0.95% 1-year CD
• Nationwide Bank - 0.95% ($100K) 0.90% ($500) 1-year CD
• NexBank - 0.90% 1-year CD, account review
• Barclays - 0.88% (1.75% 5-year CD closed after 1 year, see review & risks)

• Noteworthy Local Deals

• City County Credit Union - 1.51% 1-year IRA-only CD (many FL counties)
• Gulf Coast Federal Credit Union - 1.50% 12-month CD (Corpus Christi, TX metro)
• LOMTO Federal Credit Union - 1.20% 1-year CD (parts of New York City)
• Doral Bank NY - 1.20% 1-year CD (NYC)
• Beal Bank - 1.11% 1-year CD (Southeast FL)
• University of Iowa Community Credit Union - 1.10% ($250K) 1.00% ($100K) 0.90% ($1K) 13-month CD (several parts of Iowa)
• General Electric Credit Union - 1.02% ($100K) 1-year CD (Cincinnati OH metro)
• Health One Credit Union - 1.00% ($100K) 0.80% ($10K) 1-year CD (parts of MI)
• Your Community Credit Union - 1.00% ($100K) 1-year CD (Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston, TX)
• Capital One Bank - 1.00% 12-mo Checking intro rate up to $100K (parts of TX, DE, MD, DC, NJ, NY and VA)

18-month CD Rates

• Ally Bank - 1.34% (1.51% 5-year CD closed after 18 months, see review & risks)
• Barclays - 1.17% (1.75% 5-year CD closed after 18 months, see review & risks)
• GE Capital Retail Bank (formerly MetLife) - 1.10% ($15K min) 18-month CD
• NexBank - 1.00% 18-month CD, account review
• Nationwide Bank - 1.00% ($100K) 0.95% ($500) 18-month CD

• Noteworthy Local Deals

• Gulf Coast Federal Credit Union - 1.65% 18-month CD (Corpus Christi, TX metro)
• Libertad Bank - 1.25% 18-month CD (Texas)
• Doral Bank NY - 1.25% 18-month CD (NYC)
• El Paso Area Teachers FCU - 1.21% ($50K) 1.11% ($500) 18-month CD (El Paso, TX)

2-Year CD Rates

• Ally Bank - 1.38% (1.51% 5-year CD closed after 2 years, see review & risks)
• Barclays - 1.31% (1.75% 5-year CD closed after 2 years, see review & risks)
• Connexus Credit Union - 1.30% 2-year CD w/active chk
• CIT Bank - 1.20% ($25K min) add-on & bump-up 2-year CD
• Nationwide Bank - 1.15% ($100K) 1.10% ($500) 2-year CD
• Northwest Federal Credit Union - 1.15% ($100K) 1.05% ($25K) 2-year CD (+0.25% w/relationship)
• NexBank - 1.05% 2-year CD, account review

• Noteworthy Local Deals

• SharePlus Federal Bank - 2.00% ($50K max) 2-year CD (parts of TX, CA & KY) account review
• Gulf Coast Federal Credit Union - 1.85% 2-year CD (Corpus Christi, TX metro)
• Doral Bank NY - 1.45% 2-year CD (NYC)
• LOMTO Federal Credit Union - 1.40% 2-year CD (parts of New York City)
• University of Iowa Community Credit Union - 1.30% ($250K) 1.20% ($100K) 1.10% ($1K) 25-month CD (several parts of Iowa)
• BrightStar Credit Union - 1.25% 23-month CD (+0.25% w/chk relationship) (parts of Southeast FL)

3-Year CD Rates

• Wilshire State Bank - 2.28% 3-year installment savings account w/auto xfers, $100K max (account review)
• Connexus Credit Union - 1.75% 3-year CD w/active chk
• State Bank of India - Chicago - 1.51% ($95K) 1.41% ($2.5K) 3-year CD
• Barclays - 1.46% (1.75% 5-year CD closed after 3 years, see review & risks)
• Ally Bank - 1.43% (1.51% 5-year CD closed after 3 years, see review & risks)
• Andrews Federal Credit Union - 1.41% 3-year CD
• Melrose Credit Union - 1.36% 3-year CD
• Barclays - 1.35% 3-year CD
• CIT Bank - 1.35% ($100K) 1.21% ($1K) 3-year CD
• Northwest Federal Credit Union - 1.30% ($100K) 1.20% ($25K) 3-year CD (+0.25% w/relationship)
• NexBank - 1.20% 3-year CD, account review

• Noteworthy Local Deals

• NavyArmy Community Credit Union - 2.50% 30-month CD (Corpus Christi, TX metro)
• Gulf Coast Federal Credit Union - 2.02% 3-year CD (Corpus Christi, TX metro)
• SharePlus Federal Bank - 2.00% ($50K max) 3-year CD (parts of TX, CA & KY) account review
• University of Iowa Community Credit Union - 1.60% ($250K) 1.50% ($100K) 1.40% ($1K) 37-month CD (several parts of Iowa)
• Department of Commerce FCU - 1.60% 3-year CD (Washington DC)
• Doral Bank NY - 1.55% 3-year CD (NYC)
• LOMTO Federal Credit Union - 1.55% 3-year CD (parts of New York City)

4-Year CD Rates

• Andrews Federal Credit Union - 1.71% 4-year CD
• Melrose Credit Union - 1.61% 4-year CD
• Barclays - 1.55% 4-year CD
• Alliant Credit Union - 1.55% 4-year CD
• Barclays - 1.53% (1.75% 5-year CD closed after 4 years, see review & risks)
• Nationwide Bank - 1.51% ($100K) 1.46% ($500) 4-year CD
• Green Bank, N.A. - 1.50% 4-year CD
• Ally Bank - 1.45% (1.51% 5-year CD closed after 4 years, see review & risks)
• Discover Bank - 1.35% 4-year CD
• Ally Bank - 1.30% Raise-Your-Rate 4-year CD

• Noteworthy Local Deals

• SharePlus Federal Bank - 2.00% ($50K max) 4-year CD (parts of TX, CA & KY) account review
• Institution For Savings - 2.00% 4-year CD (parts of MA)
• University of Iowa Community Credit Union - 1.95% ($250K) 1.85% ($100K) 1.75% ($1K) 50-month CD (several parts of Iowa)
• University of Iowa Community Credit Union - 1.80% ($250K) 1.70% ($100K) 1.60% ($1K) 49-month CD (several parts of Iowa)
• Department of Commerce FCU - 1.80% 4-year CD (Washington DC)
• LOMTO Federal Credit Union - 1.75% 4-year CD (parts of New York City)
• Police and Fire Federal Credit Union - 1.75% 4-year CD (Pennsylvania)
• HAPO Community Credit Union - 1.75% 4-year CD (all of Washington State)
• Doral Bank NY - 1.65% 4-year CD (NYC)
• Shell Federal Credit Union - 1.60% ($50K) 1.55% ($500) 4-year CD (Houston, TX)

5-Year CD Rates

• Stanford Federal Credit Union - 2.02% ($100K) 5-year CD, requires chk w/dd, account review
• Mountain America Credit Union - 2.00% 5-year CD, account review
• Connexus Credit Union - 2.00% 5-year CD w/active chk
• Andrews Federal Credit Union - 1.91% 5-year CD
• Melrose Credit Union - 1.86% 5-year CD
• Green Bank, N.A. - 1.85% 5-year CD
• State Department Federal Credit Union - 1.76% 5-year IRA CD, 1.66% 5-year CD
• Barclays - 1.75% 5-year CD
• CIT Bank - 1.75% ($100K) 1.60% ($1K) 5-year CD
• Nationwide Bank - 1.65% ($100K) 1.60% ($500) 5-year CD
• Ally Bank - 1.51% 5-year CD

• Noteworthy Local Deals

• American Airlines Credit Union - 2.47% 5-yr/1.46% 2.5-yr CD ladder (limited membership)
• Security First Credit Union - 2.43% ($50K) 2.38% ($10K) 5-year CD (South Texas)
• Progressive Credit Union - 2.32% 5-year CD (NYC with unique FOM), account review
• Ukrainian Selfreliance FCU - 2.20% ($75K) 2.15% ($500) 5-year CD (Philadelphia, PA)
• Actors Federal Credit Union - 2.15% IRA 2.00% CD 5-year (SEG groups in LA, NYC & Chicago)
• Denver Community Credit Union - 2.10% ($50K) 1.85% ($100) 5-year CD (Denver County)
• Department of Commerce FCU - 2.05% 5-year CD (Washington DC)
• General Electric Credit Union - 2.03% 5-year CD (Cincinnati OH metro)
• City County Credit Union - 2.02% (2.28% for premium relationship) 5-year CD (many FL counties)
• Visions Federal Credit Union - 2.02% 5-year CD (2.28% w/relationship) (NY, PA & NJ)
• SharePlus Federal Bank - 2.00% ($50K max) 5-year CD (parts of TX, CA & KY) account review
• Security Service Federal Credit Union - 2.00% ($100K) 1.85% ($500) 5-year CD (parts of Texas, lower rates in CO and UT)
• Institution For Savings - 2.00% 5-year CD (parts of MA)
• Dime Savings Bank - 2.00% 5-year IRA-only CD (NYC)
• Keesler Federal Credit Union - 2.00% ($100K) 1.90% ($1K) 5-year CD (MS)
• LOMTO Federal Credit Union - 2.00% 5-year CD (parts of New York City)
• Police and Fire Federal Credit Union - 2.00% 5-year CD (Pennsylvania)
• Shell Federal Credit Union - 1.95% ($50K) 1.90% ($500) 5-year CD (Houston, TX)
• Miami Postal Service Credit Union - 1.91% 5-year CD (Southeast FL)
• Freedom Credit Union - 1.85% add-on 5-year CD (Philadelphia)

Over 5-Year CD Rates

• Air Force FCU - 2.00% ($100K) 1.85% ($2.5K) 7-year CD
• Discover Bank - 1.95% 10-year CD
• Apple Federal Credit Union - 1.90% 10-year CD
• Discover Bank - 1.85% 7-year CD
• Navy Federal Credit Union - 1.80% ($100K) 1.74% ($20K) 7-year CD (membership restrictions)
• Northrop Grumman FCU - 1.77% ($40K) 1.62% ($2.5K) 7-year CD
• iGObanking.com - 1.75% 7-year CD
• Navy Federal Credit Union - 1.70% ($100K) 1.65% ($20K) 6-year CD (membership restrictions)
• Apple Federal Credit Union - 1.65% 7-year CD
• Pentagon Federal Credit Union - 1.25% 7-year CD

• Noteworthy Local Deals

• Security Service Federal Credit Union - 2.35% ($100K) 2.20% ($500) 7-year CD (parts of Texas, lower rates in CO and UT)
• Workers Credit Union - 2.25% 6-year CD w/chk+dd (MA & Southern NH)
• SACU - 2.20% ($90K) 2.15% ($10K) 10-year CD (San Antonio, TX)
• Gateway Metro Federal Credit Union - 2.05% 6-year CD (St. Louis metro)
• Gesa Credit Union - 2.02% 7-year CD (Washington State)
• Amplify Credit Union - 2.00% ($100K) 1.50% ($50K) 7-year CD (Austin, TX)
• Columbia Bank - 2.00% 7-year CD (New Jersey)
• Mansfield Bank - 2.00% 8-year CD (Massachusetts)
• Columbia Bank - 2.00% 6-year IRA CD 1.85% 6-year CD (New Jersey)
• Randolph-Brooks Federal Credit Union - 1.92% ($75K) 1.92% ($1K) 7-year CD (San Antonio & Austin, TX)
• SACU - 1.80% ($100K) 1.75% ($10K) 7-year (San Antonio, TX)
• Randolph-Brooks Federal Credit Union - 1.71% ($75K) 1.71% ($1K) 6-year CD (San Antonio & Austin, TX)
• Dime Savings Bank - 1.70% 7-year CD (NYC)

Note: All rates listed above are Annual Percentage Yields (APY) which factor in compounding.

After the financial crisis of 2008, the standard maximum deposit insurance amount was increased from $100,000 to $250,000. This is now permanent and applies to both banks and credit unions.

Before the insurance limit was increased, there was another important change that became permanent. That effectively eliminated the concept of qualifying beneficiaries for revocable trust accounts - commonly called payable-on-death accounts or living trust accounts. This made it easier to extend your FDIC coverage over the standard amount. Here’s how the FDIC now defines eligible beneficiaries:

To qualify as an eligible beneficiary, the beneficiary must be a living person, a charity or a non-profit organization. If a charity or non-profit organization is named as beneficiary, it must qualify as such under Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regulations.

The most important thing to note is that the beneficiary must be living. As soon as the beneficiary dies, the added coverage ends. There’s no grace period. That’s one reason you may want to use charities as beneficiaries. As I described in my post Maximizing Your FDIC Coverage with Beneficiaries, it’s easy to allocate the amounts to your beneficiaries so you can decide how much goes to the charities.

If you’re trying to find out how to cover your savings, you can review the details in this FDIC Comprehensive Seminar on Deposit Insurance Coverage For Bankers. Unlike the guide for consumers, this guide for bankers includes more details and examples which can be useful to ensure you understand all of the rules. The guide is dated March 23, 2011 so it includes the recent changes that have occurred in the last few years including the new higher standard coverage of $250,000.

In addition to using beneficiaries to extend your coverage, you can also use multiple account ownership categories. Four common ones include:

• Single Accounts
• Joint Accounts
• Revocable Trust Accounts (includes PODs/ITFs)
• Certain Retirement Accounts (includes IRAs)

One easy method for one person to insure $500,000 with just one beneficiary is to open both a single account and a POD account. However, this requires two accounts. One account with one POD will only insure $250,000. To show this, I used the FDIC EDIE calculator. Below is a snapshot showing the uninsured amount for one CD with a single owner and one POD:

For one person with one beneficiary to insure $500,000 at one bank, the person needs to open two accounts: a single account without a beneficiary and a revocable trust account which can be just a POD account. The person can then have $250,000 in the single account and $250,000 in the revocable trust account and be fully insured. Below is a snapshot showing the entire amount is insured:

For a couple who opens single accounts, joint accounts and revocable trust accounts, it’s easy to insure $1.5 million at one bank. I’ll let you see how this can be done by using the FDIC EDIE tool. If you can find out a way to go above $1.5 million without any additional persons for beneficiaries, please leave a comment.

NCUA coverage for credit unions is essentially equivalent to FDIC coverage. In fact, I found the NCUA Share Insurance Calculator to be very similar to the FDIC EDIE tool. If you find any differences, please leave a comment.