The former “Community Bank” of Tampa Bay, Florida, is now rebranding themselves as “C1 Bank” and have issued this promotional offer as a grand-opening bonus….and to get themselves a little media attention.

The deal may not be all it’s cracked up to be though.

When you break down the annual percentage yield Read more...]]> Ok, so we’ll get to the catch right away – you need to open the deposit with $1 million.

The former “Community Bank” of Tampa Bay, Florida, is now rebranding themselves as “C1 Bank” and have issued this promotional offer as a grand-opening bonus….and to get themselves a little media attention.

The deal may not be all it’s cracked up to be though.

When you break down the annual percentage yield for this 5 year deposit it actually sits slightly below the national average at just 1.20% APY. On a 5 year CD, this comes out to a total of $61,294.04 in earnings on a $1 million deposit over the 60 month period – just enough for your pick of a Mercedes-Benz SLK350, SLK350, E350, ML350, or E350 Convertible.

You can actually choose any model of Benz that you’d like but if it exceeds the $61k mark (for precisely $1 million deposits) you’ll be stuck paying the difference. Also, don’t expect to be able to take the cash rather than the car either. C1 Bank has already inked the deal with Crown Eurocars in St. Petersburg, so you’ll need to sell it yourself if you’d rather have the cash (undoubtedly undercutting your earnings even further!).

This offer is available to residents in the state of Florida only! Stop by one of C1 Bank’s 19 locations with your Florida state issued ID to learn more about this offer.

Our take:

Dont look at this as anything other than a 5 year jumbo CD yielding just 1.20% APY. The fact that you can’t get the cash, or even your choice of auto-maker for that matter, make this offer seem like a lot of smoke and mirrors with little actual value.

To put the offer in further perspective, the current national average on 5 year deposits sits at 1.50% APY while the highest yielding 5 year CDs from our database sit well above the 1.20% mark at 1.80% APY.

The first state we chose to Read more...]]> It seems that the hunch we had in this post came true. Ben Bernanke has publicly proclaimed that key rates will remain at near zero levels through 2013 and well into 2014. While savers must be banging their heads against the wall after hearing this announcement, we immediately went on a hunt to track down the best 3 year CD rates in a number of states.

The first state we chose to survey was Florida. As most people know (especially those into politics or those that reside in the state) Florida’s demographics primarily consists of an aging population. A population that has made their contributions to society and have earned their wages for doing so – be it large, small or somewhere in between – and are looking for fixed income investment vehicles to stick at least a portion of their nest egg. And here at BankVibe.com we currently are recommending the 3 year CD. We find this to be the optimal time in which to invest. After the FED’s most recent meeting and public announcement, we think the 36 month deposit, if invested in today, will expire at precisely the time in which interest rates will begin to rise, thus freeing up those funds to put back into another certificate of deposit with a higher annual percentage yield.

The top 3 year CD rates in FL are listed below. Keep in mind that the current national average for 36 month certificates of deposit hovers around an incredibly low 1.0% APY.

Top Five 3 year CD Rates in Florida (February 2012)

(If you don’t live in Florida and would like to review the best CD rates available nationwide, stop by our CD rate center.)

1) Peoples Alliance Federal Credit Union (Miami, FL) has a 36 month deposit yielding 1.67% APY requiring a minimum deposit of $500.

2) American Airlines Federal Credit Union (Miami, FL) has a 36 month deposit yielding 1.61% APY requiring a steep minimum deposit of $10,000.

3) Florida Credit Union (Starke, FL) has a 36 month deposit yielding 1.61% APY requiring a minimum deposit of $1,000.

4) Flagier Bank (West Palm Beach, FL) has a 36 month deposit yielding 1.60% APY requiring a minimum deposit of $500.

5) GulfSouth Private Bank (Santa Rosa Beach, FL) has a 36 month deposit yielding 1.60% APY requiring another rather steep minimum deposit of $10,000.

Have you locked in a 3 year CD lately in the sunshine state with a higher interest rate than what we’ve listed above? If so, please share by leaving a comment!

We first surveyed the top ten Read more...]]> The highest interest rates on certificates of deposits offered from local Jacksonville, FL banks and credit unions are struggling to match those of top nationally available institutions online. In our most recent survey isolating Jacksonville area banks and credit unions and comparing them with the top online and nationwide banks from our database, we found that rate-hunting consumers were better off going with the online ones.

We first surveyed the top ten 6 month CD rates with Jacksonville area zip codes and compared them with the top 10 from our database and found that not one local credit union or community bank was amongst them. There are certainly plenty of deals on CD rates from local institutions in Florida (when compared to the national average), but when you narrow that down to just the Jacksonville area, local institutions are scarce and not at all competitive with their rates.

After surveying 6 month CDs we moved on to 1 year CDs, and all the way up to 5 year deposits. Below are the local banks offering rates that could hang with our top ten rates from online banks and nationally available institutions from our database.

Noteworthy Local CD Rates (Jacksonville, Florida):

- Compass Bank (Orange Park) has a 2 year CD yielding 1.25% APY requiring a $5,000 minimum deposit.

- Navy Federal Credit Union (Jacksonville, FL) has a 3 year CD yielding 1.45% APY requiring a $1,000 minimum deposit.

- Urban Trust Bank (Orange Park) has a 3 year CD yielding 1.45% APY requiring a $500 deposit.

- 121 Financial Credit Union (Jacksonville, FL) has a 5 year CD yielding 1.95% APY requiring a $500 deposit.

- VyStar Credit Union (Orange Park) has a 5 year CD yielding 1.91% APY requiring a $10,000 deposit.

If you live in the Jacksonville area and know of a better CD rate in your neighborhood, please share by leaving a comment!

Although we wouldn’t necessarily recommend locking your money into a 5 year CD in this miserable landscape for FDIC-seeking-savers, we still Read more...]]> After a BankVibe.com reader notified us on a competitive 5 year CD coming from a regional credit union based out of Florida, we conducted a little further research an outed a few more noteworthy long term CD rates (with 5 year terms, to be exact) coming from credit unions in Florida.

Although we wouldn’t necessarily recommend locking your money into a 5 year CD in this miserable landscape for FDIC-seeking-savers, we still thought we’d highlight them since they’re beating the national average by such respectable margins.

Before we mention the top 3 however, we’d like to state that these are fairly exclusive, regionally operated credit unions. It may be difficult to join if your individual circumstance (ie place of work, residence, family ties, etc) doesn’t meet their targeted market. That being said, if you do fall into their list of selected employers, have family members that do, or reside in their area of regional operation, it’s certainly worth a shot at applying for membership. Check with the individual institutions’ website or give them a call for further clarification.

Top Rates on 5 year CDs from Florida Credit Unions:

(Rates accurate as of October 2011.)

- American Airlines Federal Credit Union (Miami, FL) has a 5 year CD yielding 2.78% APY with a minimum deposit requirement of $10,000. Visit aacreditunion.org or call (800) 533-0035.

- United Police Federal Credit Union (Miami Beach, FL) has a 5 year CD yielding 2.58% APY with a minimum deposit requirement of $1,000. Visit unitedpolicefcu.com or call 1-800-609-3277.

- Saint Joseph’s Hospital Federal Credit Union (Tampa, FL) has a 5 year CD yielding yielding 2.30% APY with a minimum deposit requirement of $1,000 required. Visit sjhfcu.org and use their contact form for further inquiries regarding membership.

To put the annual percentage yields in perspective, the national average for 5 year certificates of deposit sits at roughly 1.78% APY.

Update: Review our list of the top CD rates in 2012.

CD rates in 2011 have undoubtedly left FDIC-insured investment seekers cranky. And just to make savers a little more frustrated we’ve seen CD rates throughout the country show tiny glimmers of hope as they bounce off of their all-time lows only to return to those levels the following week.

The current national averages for 6 month CDs, 12 month CDs and 3 Read more...]]>

Update: Review our list of the top CD rates in 2012.

CD rates in 2011 have undoubtedly left FDIC-insured investment seekers cranky. And just to make savers a little more frustrated we’ve seen CD rates throughout the country show tiny glimmers of hope as they bounce off of their all-time lows only to return to those levels the following week.

The current national averages for 6 month CDs, 12 month CDs and 3 year CDs currently sit at 0.56% APY, 0.90% APY and 1.40% APY by the leading online and nationally available FDIC insured institutions. With average deposit rates struggling to keep up with inflation, many savers are beginning to get restless.

Sometime next week Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will hold his first quarterly news conference regarding (among other things) interest rates. However, I wouldn’t hold your breath as to whether he’ll decide to raise rates. Many analysts have suggested Mr. Bernanke and his team will claim it’s still too early to raise key rates as it may have an adverse impact on the still fragile economic climate.

Where can you find the best CD rates in 2011?

Your best bet is with either online banks – as they can offer slightly higher rates due to their lack of overhead costs that traditional brick and mortar institutions have – or local credit unions. Credit Unions can sometime offer higher CD rates (and better bank rates in general) because they don’t have a board of directors breathing down their necks demanding higher profit margins. Credit Unions are generally not-for-profit institutions which are owned by their members and any profits derived from business are passed along back to their members in the form of higher savings rates and lower loan rates.

Top 10 CD Rates Available (April 2011):

(Please keep in mind interest rates are time sensitive in nature. If this article is outdated, refer to our CD rate database to find the best local and nationally available CD rates.)

1) PEF Federal Credit Union (Ohio) has a 60 month CD rate yielding 3.29% APY with a minimum deposit of just $500 required.

2) Domino Federal Credit Union (Texas) has a 60 month CD rate yielding 3.257% APY with a minimum deposit of just $500 required.

3) Liberty Bank (Florida) has a 60 month CD rate yielding 3.00% APY with a minimum deposit of $10,000 required.

4) Premier Community Credit Union (California) has a 60 month CD rate yielding 3.00% APY with a minimum deposit of $1000 required.

5) Signature Bank (New York) has a 60 month CD rate yielding 3.01% APY with a minimum deposit of $5000 required.

6) Bank of Utica (New York) has a 60 month CD rate yielding 3.00% APY with a minimum deposit of just $500 required.

7) SeaComm Federal Credit Union (New York) has a 60 month CD rate yielding 2.99% APY with a minimum deposit of $1000 required.

8 ) Liberty Bank (Illinois) has a 60 month CD rate yielding 3.00% APY with a minimum deposit of $10,000 required.

9) American Savings Bank FSB (Ohio) has a 60 month CD rate yielding 3.00% APY with a minimum deposit of just $500 required.

10) Citadel Federal Credit Union (Pennsylvania) has a 60 month CD rate yielding 3.00% APY with a minimum deposit of just $500 required.

The banks and credit unions we’ve listed above are regional institutions. Visit their individual website(s) to see if they have branches near you or if you can open a deposit product over the phone or online.

Do you know of a better CD rate offered through your local bank or credit union that we haven’t mentioned? If so, please share by leaving a comment!

UPDATE: Visit BofA’s CD rates in 2012.

In our latest coverage of CD rates offered by the largest banks in the country, we tracked down Bank of America’s current CD rates as of March 2011. BofA’s CD rates in 2011 aren’t much different then they were last year – they are still sitting below the national average by a decent sized margin and their product offerings remain the same. If you must Read more...]]>

UPDATE: Visit BofA’s CD rates in 2012.

In our latest coverage of CD rates offered by the largest banks in the country, we tracked down Bank of America’s current CD rates as of March 2011. BofA’s CD rates in 2011 aren’t much different then they were last year – they are still sitting below the national average by a decent sized margin and their product offerings remain the same. If you must open a CD with BofA, we’d probably recommend their “Opt-Up” CD so that you’re not locked in to the same abysmal rate for the entire duration of your deposit. Complete terms and conditions of Bank of America’s Opt-Up CD can be found at the bottom of this post.

Bank of America CD Rates 2011:

(rates accurate as of March 2011 in Florida branches. Visit BankofAmerica.com for updated rate info or to change your state of origin.)

- 6 to 11 month CD yielding 0.30% APY with a minimum deposit amount of $1000 required.

- 12 to 17 month CD yielding 0.45% APY with a minimum deposit amount of $1000 required.

- 18 to 23 month CD yielding 0.60% APY with a minimum deposit amount of $1000 required.

- 24 to 35 month CD yielding 0.65% APY with a minimum deposit amount of $1000 required.

- 36 to 47 month CD yielding 1.00% APY with a minimum deposit amount of $1000 required.

- 48 to 59 month CD yielding 1.31% APY with a minimum deposit amount of $1000 required.

- 60 month CD yielding 2.01% APY with a minimum deposit amount of $1000 required.

Terms and Conditions of Opt-Up CD:

If you’ve opened an Opt-Up CD and rates rise, contact BofA anytime after your CD has been open for at least six months to request your one-time rate increase. This new rate will apply only to the remaining term of your CD. All other terms and conditions, including penalties for early withdrawal, remain the same.

For example, if your opening interest rate was 2.00%, after six months, if a new Opt-Up CD is offered at 2.50%, your rate could increase to 2.50% for the remainder of the term.

Jax Metro Credit Union out of Jacksonville, Florida has a 12 month CD yielding 2.02% APY with a minimum deposit of just $500 required. Read more...]]> When compared to the national average, we’ve seen fairly high CD rates in Florida. A couple weeks back we noted that the top 6 month CD rates in Florida were crushing the national average – and now it looks like the 12 month deposit rates have followed suit!

Jax Metro Credit Union out of Jacksonville, Florida has a 12 month CD yielding 2.02% APY with a minimum deposit of just $500 required. The national average for 12 month bank certificates sits at roughly 1.17% APY (to put this offer in perspective) and the best rates available nationally aren’t even reaching the 1.60% APY mark.

Another interesting offer comes from Baxter Credit Union out of Miami, Florida. They have set up a “rainy day savings account” which provides yields of 1.51% APY the first 12 months but then jumps up to a whopping 2.95% APY for the second 12 month period. Below are the features, terms and conditions associated with this account…

• Annual Percentage Yield (APY) is subject to change without notice.
  
• The stated opening APY will double after the first twelve consecutive monthly deposits.
  
• Minimum of $25 monthly deposit is required.
  
• $500 maximum deposit allowed per month.
  
• Initial deposit cannot exceed $1,000 and must be made during the month the account is opened or the monthly maximum deposit of $500 will apply.
  
• Funds exceeding the maximum deposit will be transferred to the member’s regular share.
  
• Two withdrawals allowed per calendar year. Excess withdrawals are subject to a $25 penalty.
  
• No withdrawal allowed for the first 90-days or a $25 early withdrawal penalty will be imposed for each withdrawal within 90 day period.
  
• Accounts not meeting the minimum monthly deposit will earn the regular share rate for that month.
  
• Membership is required to open account.