Maine CD Rates – Locally Based Credit Unions Offering Top APY’s

If you happen to live in the upper northeast (Maine to be specific) and are hunting for long term CD rates to invest in, you have several options from some local credit unions serving residents of the state. In our most recent survey of Maine’s top CD rates we found that the small community credit unions in the area are providing higher yields than the top online FDIC insured CD rates from our database on long term durations ONLY. If live in Maine and are looking for something with a smaller term, you’re better off applying for a certificate of deposit from one of the nationally available institutions.

As we conduct these surveys regularly, we generally point to the common trend that small banks and credit unions are usually on top for annual percentage yields, however, this trend does is not consistent with every state in the country (Maine being one of them). In fact, if you’re looking to lock in any CD with a term under the 60 month mark, you’ll be hard pressed to find a locally based bank or credit unions out of Maine that is able to compete with online banks. However, for 5 year CD’s, Maine’s credit unions have the top interest rates on lock down.

Top 5 year CD Rates in Maine:

(The interest rates listed below are time sensitive in nature and are accurate as of November 2011. Visit our 60 month CD rate database to compare APY’s, minimum deposit requirements and bank ratings.)

- Maine Savings Federal Credit Union (North Vassalboro, ME) is offering a 5 year CD with an APY of 2.36% with a minimum deposit requirement of $500.

- Maine State Credit Union (Waterville, ME) is offering a 5 year CD with an APY of 2.30% with a minimum deposit requirement of $500.

- New Dimensions Federal Credit Union (Waterville, ME) is offering a 5 year CD with an APY of 2.30% with a minimum deposit requirement of $5,000.

- Brewer Federal Credit Union (Brewer, ME) is offering a 5 year CD with an APY of 2.274% with a minimum deposit requirement of $500.

- Bangor Federal Credit Union (Brewer, ME) is offering a 5 year CD with an APY of 2.270% with a minimum deposit requirement of $500.

The top 5 year CD rates from institutions nationwide are:

- Nationwide Bank with an APY of 2.05% and a minimum deposit requirement of $500.

- First Internet Bank of Indiana with an APY of 2.00% and a minimum deposit requirement of $1,000.

- Discover Bank with an APY of 2.00% and a minimum deposit requirement of $2,500.

To put the offers above in perspective the national average for 5 year CD’s sits at roughly 1.70% APY as of November 2011.

Long term CD rates (and specifically 5 year CD’s) have fallen sharply since the summer due to the FED purchasing long term treasury notes, effectively lowering the rates offered on longer term bank deposits. These rates are expected to remain flat through most of 2013 and potentially into 2014 depending on economic conditions. FED Chairmen Bernanke made this announcement in his latest Jackson Hole, WY meeting two months ago.

Should you go long on CDs?

Here at BankVibe.com we recommend holding off on the purchase of long term CD’s due to the current unfavorable landscape for savers. If you’re looking to obtain a bank deposit, we would suggest looking into 6 month – 3 year CD’s at this will free up your funds in a time when interest rates should begin to rise. As a general rule of thumb, long term CD’s provide optimal utility when they are purchased at the end of a high rate cycle before rates begin to decline, thereby allowing the consumer to lock in high rates before the downward trend begins.

Local Idaho Banks and Credit Unions Can’t Keep up With Top National CD Rates

Here’s another state that is getting left in the dust – Idaho. Idaho’s local banks and credit unions can’t seem to keep their CD rates competitive when compared to the top offers from national institutions.

If you haven’t been following CD rate trends or have just recently entered the market for one of these instruments, you may think this is to be expected – but it isn’t. Almost every week we conduct surveys to get a feel for local CD rates and how they stack up against nationally available products. And in many cases, local credit unions and even small community banks can issue slightly higher rates. Credit Unions have the upper hand in this matter because they are typically not-for-profit institutions which pass along profits back to the members in the form of higher savings rates (and lower loan rates). In Idaho’s case, however, things are a bit backwards.

The top CD rates residents in this state can currently find are going to be the same CD rates anyone in the country can obtain – such as offers from Ally Bank, CiT Bank, Popular Community Bank, etc. And while the rates on those products certainly aren’t to be discredited (they actually beat the national average by significant margins) we just expect more from locally community based institutions, not just in Idaho, but throughout the country.

Rundown for best APY’s on Deposits Available to Residents of Idaho:

6 month CDs:

- Alostar Bank of Commerce 0.86% APY requiring minimum deposit of $1,000. Available Nationally.

- Virtual Bank 0.85% APY requiring minimum deposit of $10,000. Available Nationally (Online Only Bank).

12 month CDs:

- CiT Bank 1.15% APY requiring minimum deposit of $25,000. Available Nationally.

- Popular Community Bank 1.15% APY requiring minimum deposit of $10,000. Available Nationally.

24 month CDs:

- American Express Bank 1.30% APY requiring minimum deposit of $1.00. Available Nationally.

- Potlatch No 1 Federal Credit Union (Saint Maries, ID) 1.26% APY requiring minimum deposit of $10,000. Local Only.

- Lewis Clark Credit Union (Idaho) 1.256% APY requiring minimum deposit of $500. Local Only.

As you can see the only locally based credit unions out of Idaho attempting to meet the bar set by the nationally available banks at this point are Potlatch FCU and Lewis Clark CU – and they still fall a tad short. If you live in Idaho and happen to know of a better CD rate offered through your local bank, please share by leaving a comment!

Capital One CD Rates in 2011 – 6 months to 10 years

Capital One Bank, based out of Virginia, is the 28th largest bank in the United States and is relatively new when compared to the nation’s other well known banking institutions. After being founded in 1994, it has since grown to employee roughly 8,777 people while controlling roughly $70.51 billion in assets as well as originating over $53 billion in loans.

Capital One’s savings account and CD rates (certificate of deposit) while a step up from the likes of Bank of America, Wells Fargo, CitiBank and Chase are still much lower than national averages and drastically lower than the CD rates you can find from online banks and, on occasion, local credit unions. Capital One’s deposit products also feature a higher minimum deposit requirement than most other banks we survey.

Capital One Bank CD Rates (October 2011):

(Visit our savings account center to compare updated interest rates from institutions around the country).

- 6 month CD yielding 0.25% APY with a minimum deposit requirement of $5,000.

- 12 month CD yielding 0.30% APY with a minimum deposit requirement of $5,000.

- 18 month CD yielding 0.40% APY with a minimum deposit requirement of $5,000.

- 2 year CD yielding 0.40% APY with a minimum deposit requirement of $5,000.

- 30 month CD yielding 0.45% APY with a minimum deposit requirement of $5,000.

- 3 year CD yielding 0.45% APY with a minimum deposit requirement of $5,000.

- 4 year CD yielding 0.75% APY with a minimum deposit requirement of $5,000.

- 5 year CD yielding 1.25% APY with a minimum deposit requirement of $5,000.

- 7 year CD yielding 1.80% APY with a minimum deposit requirement of $5,000.

- 10 year CD yielding 2.50% APY with a minimum deposit requirement of $5,000.

Capital One Bank’s Growth and Overall Health:

Capital One has seen significant deposit growth over the last few years despite declining interest rates throughout the industry. During the last year Capital One increased its deposits by roughly 34% or $9.4 billion. They also recently released news of their $9 billion dollar deal to acquire ING Direct USA. This will be the largest acquisition Capital One has ever conducted. With the deal, Capital One’s online banking business will grow to the tune of 3x its current size to $109 billion (adding $80 billion in deposits from ING Direct). They will also gain 7 million customers from ING in the deal.

Health Statistics:

Interest Income: $4.3 billion

Return on Equity: 41%

Return on Assets: 3.85%

Net Interest Margin: 11.45%

AloStar Bank of Commerce Review(s) and CD Rates

AloStar Bank of Commerce, based out of Birmingham, Alabama was originally founded to supplement the “bedrock” of the American economy by focusing it’s efforts on two major segments of the US population – deposit savers and businesses.

Important Note about AloStar Bank: AloStar Bank was formerly Nexity Bank. They are just one of several online FDIC-insured banks that have changed their name after the 2008 bank collapse due to negative consumer associations with their brands as well as problematic and/or failed businesses. When Nexity Bank went under in April, AloStar Bank was formed to take over all of their assets.

By making their bank CDs available across the country (48 states) through online CD accounts, AloStar Bank of Commerce can attract consumers from varying geographic locations with their above average CD rates and ease of account opening and funding. With their depositors cash they then fund businesses with $5 million to $150 million in revenue who need a variety of commercial lending products.

They are the 9th largest bank in Alabama (despite being able to service savers throughout the nation) and the 774th largest bank in the United States.

CD Rates available at AloStar Bank of Commerce:

(Rates accurate as of September 2011. Compare these rates with the best CD rates of 2011. AloStar Bank of Commerce provides varying yields on their certificates of deposit depending on the consumer’s deposit amount. A minimum deposit of $1,000 is required to open one of their CDs.)

- 30 day CD 0.26% APY with a minimum deposit of $1,000 required.

- 90 day CD yielding 0.76% APY with a minimum deposit of $1,000 required.

- 6 month CD yielding 1.05% APY with a minimum deposit requirement of $1,000. * Avg. rates for 6 month CDs currently sit at roughly 0.45% APY.

- 9 month CD yielding 1.03% APY with a minimum deposit of $1,000 required.

- 12 month CD yielding 1.27% APY with a minimum deposit of $1,000 required.

- 24 month CD yielding 1.37% APY with a minimum deposit of $1,000 required.

Team Behind AloStar Bank of Commerce:

The financal executives in charge with setting forth the direction of AloStar are Michael Gillfillan and Andrew McGhee. Together, Gillfillan and McGhee have 66 years of experience in banking and private equity.

Gillfillan spent 26 years at Wells Fargo and ended his tenure as chief credit officer and vice chairman. Most of his experience lies in bank governance and commercial finance management.

McGhee was a co-founder at Archway Equity Partners, an Atlanta-based private equity firm, in 2008. Before that he spent 12 years with SunTrust Bank and served as their managing director of three business units before becoming vice president.

If you have experience in banking with the newly formed AloStar Bank of Commerce, please share by leaving a comment below!

12 month CD rates don’t change much after FED meeting

Last week’s Jackson Hole, Wyoming, meeting with FED chairman Ben Bernanke appeared to have little effect (at least so far) on short term CD rates. QXJ973NB28XB While still at historically low levels, we’re pleased to see that they didn’t dip even further with both 6 month and 12 month CD rates remaining consistent with their levels from the previous week.

Below are the national averages for 6 month to 3 year CD rates for the last week of August (2011):

(These averages are calculated based on deposits available nationwide. Small community banks and credit unions may not be included in these figures.)

6 month CDs currently averaging 0.53% APY (last week’s average sat at roughly 0.54% APY)

* highest 6 month CD rate coming from Aurora Bank with an APY of 1.03% requiring a $1,000 minimum deposit. Almost twice the national average!

12 month CDs currently averaging 0.85% APY (last week’s average sat at roughly 0.84% APY)

* highest 12 month CD rate coming from AloStar Bank of Commerce with an APY of 1.27% requiring a $1,000 minimum deposit.

3 year CDs currently averaging 1.23% APY (last week’s average sat at roughly 1.26% APY)

* highest 3 year CD rate coming from Aurora Bank with an APY of 1.64% requiring a $1,000 minimum deposit.

If you’re strictly after the best annual percentage yields, you’ll want to cross reference the interest rates above with CD rates available at credit unions and local community banks in your area. Credit unions are not-for-profit institutions which can occasionally offer better rates than national banking institutions. Credit Unions, however, come with membership requirements and are frequently exclusive. You may need to work for a selected employer or live in a certain county to join.

Ultima Bank of Minnesota CD Rates and Review(s)

Ultima Bank of Minnesota is a relatively small community bank with some decent rates on their CDs (certificates of deposit) and savings accounts. However, most of us will probably not be eligible to take advantage of these products as Ultima Bank operates in Minnesota with just 2 branches and 25 full time employees. In the state of Minnesota they are just the 176th largest banking institution (for both banks and credit unions serving the state) and they control roughly $88 million in assets. Ultima Bank is a subsidiary of the holding company Financial Services of Winger Inc. which was established in 1904.

Like many small rural banks, Ultima Bank frequently offers “specials” or “promotional” savings account and CD features interest rates that are well above the national averages.

Ultima Bank of Minnesota CD Rates:

(Rates accurate as of July 2011. Visit Ultimabank.com for updated rates, terms and conditions.)

This week’s “Special Offers” from Ultima Bank:

- 12 month CD yielding 1.05% APY with a minimum deposit requirement of $1,000.

- 24 month CD yielding 1.35% APY with a minimum deposit requirement of $1,000.

UltimaBank uses the daily balance method to calculate the interest rate on your CD. They also impose a penalty for early withdrawal and your funds will automatically be reinvested into the CD if you don’t give them notice within 10 days of its maturity.

ING Direct CD Rates 2011

ING Direct, backed by ING (NYSE:ING), is a global financial institution which was originally established in Holland. They now operate in 50 countries and have roughly 85 million private, corporate and institutional clients. Their global reach is fairly broad – of the 130,000 people they employee in the fifty countries in which they operate, just 10,000 of those employees are from the US, however they have been operating in the United States for roughly 100 years.

Earlier this year we were covering the rather atrocious CD rates offered by the largest banks in the country and after being reminded of ING Direct’s savings products from their fourth of July promotions, we thought we’d quickly highlight ING’s CD rates in 2011. While at first glance you’ll probably deem these deposit rates to be rather terrible (which they are) but keep in mind the overall market for FDIC insured savings accounts and bank CD’s throughout the course of 2011 has been a rather abysmal. And to make matters worse, savings rates are expected to remain in their slump for the foreseeable future (and probably the remainder of 2011).

2011 CD Rates offered through ING Direct:

(Rates accurate as of July 2011. Visit our CD rates center for top rates from around the country.)

- ING Direct’s 6 month CD yielding 0.75% APY

- ING Direct’s 9 month CD yielding 0.75% APY

- ING Direct’s 12 month CD yielding 0.75% APY

- ING Direct’s 18 month CD yielding 0.75% APY

- ING Direct’s 24 month CD yielding 1.00% APY

- ING Direct’s 30 month CD yielding 1.25% APY

- ING Direct’s 36 month CD yielding 1.25% APY

- ING Direct’s 48 month CD yielding 1.25% APY

- ING Direct’s 60 month CD yielding 1.50% APY

To put the above annual percentage yields in perspective, the current national average for 6 month CDs, 1 year CDs and 3 year CDs is 0.56% APY, 0.90% APY and 1.35% APY, respectively.

You may open a ING Direct CD either over the phone, through the mail or on their website.

Reynolds State Bank’s CD Rates – Best APY’s

Reynolds State Bank out of Illinois is a pretty small bank which offers some noteworthy CD rates that pack a punch. With just 1 location and 6 full time employees, they offer some of the best CD rates in Illinois. As of this month their top product – the 12 month CD – is  reportedly offering a 2.01% APY with minimum deposits of $1,000. To put this offer in perspective, the current national average sits at just 0.89% APY for deposits with one year terms.

Reynolds State Bank has a net operating income of $268,240 with $77 Million in total assets. They are not even in the top 5,000 banks in the United States and ranked 387 overall in Illinois.

CD Rates offered by Reynolds State Bank (Illinois):

(Rates accurate as of June 2011. Visit our CD rate center for updated rates from around the country.)

- 6 month CD yielding 1.76% APY with a minimum deposit of $1,000 required. The national average for 6 month CDs stis at roughly 0.55% APY.

- 1 year CD yielding 2.01% APY with a minimum deposit of $1,000 required. The national average for 1 year CDs sits at roughly 0.90% APY.

- 30 month CD yielding 2.26% APY with a minimum deposit of $1,000 required. The national average for 24 month CDs stis at roughly 1.05% APY.

Reynolds State Bank Facts:

• Bank Legal Name: Reynolds State Bank
• FDIC #: 10080
• Headquarters: REYNOLDS, IL
• Date Established: January 01, 1888

Capital One Bank CD Rates in NY (New York)

In keeping with our coverage of CD rates offered by the largest banking institutions in the US, we uncovered some pretty horrendous deposit rates offered by Capital One in their NY branches. Whether you live in NY or not, you’ll likely find similar rates from Capital One across the country as their rates are consistently low. Despite the fact that they are offering CD rates significantly under today’s national average(s), they are still one of the largest consumer deposit holders in the country. Capital One, headquartered in Virginia, has roughly 995 offices/branches through the country and controls roughly $122 billion in deposits.

Capital One Branch Locations: The largest number of locations are in New York, followed by NJ, LA, MD, Washington DC, VA, and TX.

Products: Capital One is the fourth largest issuer of Visa and Mastercard credit cards with roughly 37 million accounts in the US. Even though their bank CDs are completely un-enticing, their credit cards are still widely popular as they specialize in rewards programs involving travel, merchandise and cash back.

In 2010 Capital One reported $16.1 billion in revenue and $2.4 billion in net income.

Today’s Capital One CD Rates in NY:

(Rates accurate as of April 2011. Visit CapitalOne.com for updated rates and information.)

- 5 year CD yielding 2.30% APY with a minimum deposit of $5,000 required.

- 3 year CD yielding 1.10% APY with a minimum deposit of $5,000 required.

- 30 month CD yielding 0.75% APY with a minimum deposit of $5,000 required.

- 2 year CD yielding 0.74% APY with a minimum deposit of $5,000 required.

- 18 month CD yielding 0.75% APY with a minimum deposit of $5,000 required.

- 1 year CD yielding 0.50% APY with a minimum deposit of $5,000 required.

- 6 month CD yielding 0.25% APY with a minimum deposit of $5,000 required.

To put Capital One’s rates in perspective, the current national average for 6 month CDs and 12 month CDs sit at 0.56% APY and 0.86% APY respectively.

PNC Bank CD Rates 2011

PNC Bank is the fifth largest bank in the US by deposit size with a little over $177 million in overall deposits. In the past, PNC bank has offered many promotional CD rates with exceptional APY’s however in 2011 their rates have struggled to keep up with the national average.

The CD rates we’ve compiled below were gathered from PNC Bank branches in Pennsylvania. They offer both traditional CDs as well as a number of promotional CDs with slightly higher APYs. Their regular certificates of deposit come with a minimum deposit requirement of $1,000 and their promotional CDs require $10,000 to open.

PNC Bank CD Rates 2011

(Rates accurate as of April 2011)

- 1 month CD yielding 0.10% APY with a minimum deposit requirement of $1,000.

- 3 month CD yielding 0.15% APY with a minimum deposit requirement of $1,000.

- 6 month CD yielding 0.20% APY with a minimum deposit requirement of $1,000.

- 12 month CD yielding 0.45% APY with a minimum deposit requirement of $1,000.

- 18 month CD yielding 0.50% APY with a minimum deposit requirement of $1,000.

- 24 month CD yielding 0.45% APY with a minimum deposit requirement of $1,000.

- 36 month CD yielding 0.65% APY with a minimum deposit requirement of $1,000.

- 48 month CD yielding 1.00% APY with a minimum deposit requirement of $1,000.

- 60 month CD yielding 1.20% APY with a minimum deposit requirement of $1,000.

PNC Bank Promotional CD Rates 2011:

- 9 month CD yielding 0.40% APY with a minimum deposit requirement of $1,000.

- 36 month CD yielding 1.50% APY with a minimum deposit requirement of $10,000.

- 60 month CD yielding 2.40% APY with a minimum deposit requirement of $10,000.

Related: Check out PNC Bank Mortgage Reviews and Rates here.