Best 3 month CD rates paying 1.22% APY

The highest yielding 3 month CD rates have taken a huge slide over the last several months and an even greater slide throughout the course of 2009. Back in January it was fairly easy to find these 90 day CDś yielding more than twice the amount in which the top ones yield today.

As for national banks offering the highest interest rates on this particular product, Imperial Capital Bank out of Beverly Hills, California offers a 1.22% APY with a minimum deposit of $2,000 required. This product can be opened online (15 minute application process) and is available to customers throughout the country.  To open this account you will need standard personal information such as social security number, address, employment information, and bank information from which you will be transferring the funds.

The second best rate (nationally available) comes from Excel National Bank. They have a similar online application and processing procedure. Their 3 month CD yields 1.20% APY, however it comes with a minimum deposit amount of $10,000. They also provide a number of business CDs with similar yields to their personal ones. Excel National Bank is also based out of Beverly Hills, California and opens itś doors to customers nationwide.

The third best interest rate provided to a 3 month CD is 0.75% APY and it comes from Danvers Bank. They specialize in online banking and have been around since 1850. Today they control roughly $1.70 billion in assets. Their 3 month CD used to hold the number 1 spot a few months back but has since dropped a bit. Danvers Bank only requires a minimum deposit of $500 to open any of their certificate of deposit products. On a side note, Danvers Bank also offers an exceptional high interest checking account which is currently yielding 4.01% APY.

All three of the above institutions are federally insured by the FDIC, if you happen to know of a better 3 month CD rate, please leave a comment! You can compare these CD rates with some of the other bank CD rates we have covered over the last few months to further research your available options.

Best online CD (certificate of deposit) rate

The best online CD rate can be found at Danvers Bank. In fact, they have been offering the most competitive online CD rates for the majority of 2009.

In February Danvers Bank had a 4 month online CD yielding 3.30% APY. Then in March they dropped the rate to a still competitive 2.94% APY.

This is a testament to the current climate of online bank CD’s. Since the beginning of 2009 rates have plummeted drastically. An average 12 month CD still had a yield above 3.0% APY at the beginning of the year, however today the average interest rate associated with one year CD’s sits at a meager 1.65% APY.

Danvers Bank’s 4 month online CD rate now holds an interest rate of 2.0% APY with a minimum deposit amount of $500. Needless to say, this is still a very competitive interest rate given the current national averages. To put this offer in perspective the current national average for money market accounts sits at 1.20% APY and the current national average for six month CDs sits at roughly 1.25% APY.

Danvers Bank is member FDIC and they have made this product available to people nationwide.

One thing to keep in mind is that this product holds a maximum deposit of $25,000, so if you are looking to stash a much larger chunk of cash into a high interest bearing account then you may want to check out the money market accounts offered by United Central Bank.

High interest “Rewards Checking” account: 4.01% APY

These rewards checking accounts keep showing up in the BankVibe inbox. This one comes from Danvers Bank and is available to people throughout the country. Currently it yields a whopping 4.01% APY on all balances up to $25k with a much lower rate of 0.25% APY paid on all balances above that mark. Like most interest checking accounts you must meet the monthly requirements to receive the advertised rate.

Here are the terms, conditions and benefits of this account:

- 4.01% Annual Percentage Yield (APY) paid on daily balances up to $25,000, and 0.25% APY paid on all amounts above $25,000 each statement cycle the minimum requirements are met.

- To qualify for the Rewards Rate, account holders must complete the following each statement cycle: perform at least 12 debit card transactions, receive a monthly statement electronically, access online banking at least once, and receive a recurring ACH or direct deposit.

- Available on personal accounts only. If you do not meet the requirements per statement cycle, you will earn an APY of 0.25%, your account will still function as a Free Checking account, however, it will not receive ATM refunds for that time period. ATM refunds apply to non-DBK ATM Fees and other non-proprietary ATM surcharges. There is a fee for the Occasional Overdraft Privilege Service (OOPS) associated with this account.

Danvers Bank – 4 month online CD (update)

Two months ago Danvers Bank out of Boston, Massachusetts, offered a sweet CD rate promotion. A 4 month online CD yieding 3.30% APY for a limited time. And as of April 2, 2009, they still have this 4 month online certificate of deposit promotion running, however it now comes with a fixed interest rate of 2.94% or 3.00% APY. This is still an extremely lucrative rate for having such a short maturity. 12 month CD’s are currently yielding 1 percentage point less than this 4 month CD offer …to put things in perspective.

In the last post regarding Danvers Bank and their online CD rate promotion, BankVibe reader Steve mentioned that their is a $25,000 maximum deposit for this account as well as a $500 minimum.

Danvers Bank also offers a 9 and 12 month CD special with a much more modest APY of 2.50% (still thumping the national average). To learn more about their promotional savings products and to see who can apply click here.