Best 2 year CD rates found at Hudson City Savings Bank

If you are in the market for a 24 month CD, the highest yielding rates can currently be found at Hudson City Savings Bank. Thanks to BankVibe reader Sean for tipping us off!

Hudson City Savings Bank primarily serves customers of the north-east (namely Connecticut, New York and New Jersey) however because of their on-line bank deposit options, they also accept deposits nationwide via ACH wire transfer. You will need to contact a representative directly to see if you qualify.

Hudson City: 2 year CD yielding 2.50 APY with a minimum deposit amount of $500. Your interest on this account will be calculated daily and applied monthly. You may opt to have your interest credited to your certificate of deposit, mailed to you by check, or transferred into another Hudson City bank account. The national average for 24 month CD rates currently sits at roughly 1.95% APY.

Hudson City Savings Bank claims to be the most efficient operating bank in America by conducting almost all of itś business online. They also claim to pass their savings costs onto the consumer in the form of higher interest rates on their deposits. As a side note, Forbes named Hudson City the ¨best managed bank” in 2007 (granted a lot has changed since then within the industry).

They also offer a money market account which is providing a 1.75% APY for balances above $2,500. There is a $2 monthly service fee that will be applied to this account if your balance falls below the $2,500 level.

Highest yielding money market account rates in New York

Below are the best money market account rates we have found serving residents in the state of New York. After digging through a number of rate pages of local banks and credit unions we have found that national banks are able to provide more competitive interest rates the local New York banks.

We had a pretty substantial debate on BankVibe last month on whether or not local banks and credit unions offered better products than the large national banks and concluded that it varied from state to state. Many states with high population density such as New York tended to lean towards the national banks for more competitive rates, while states such as Kansas, Nebraska and Idaho tended to lean towards local institutions for the highest yielding interest rates.

Best Money Market Account Rates in New York:

(click on the institution for more info)

• Hudson City Savings Bank: New York City, NY. High interest money market account yielding 1.75% APY with a minimum deposit amount of $2,500. This account takes about 10 minutes to sign up for. You will need a drivers license, a previous home address if you haven’t lived at your current residence for more than 2 years, social security number, checking account in which you are transferring the funds from, proof of being a legal US citizen. Hudson City Savings Bank claims to be the most efficient bank in North America. Forbes named it the “best managed bank” for both 2007and 2008. They attempt to eliminate overhead by providing the majority of their products online. They then return these savings to the customer in the form of lower fees and higher savings rates.
• First Heritage Federal Credit Union: Painted Post, NY. Money market account yielding up to 2.02% APY depending on the minimum balance you maintain. If you have a balance of between $2,500 and $49,999 you will earn an APY of 1.51%, if you maintain a balance of atl east $50,000 you will earn the advertised 2.02% APY. Like most credit unions, this one is a little tricky to join. First Heritage serves the following community field of membership: Persons who live, work, worship or attend school in the three county community, comprised of Steuben and Chemung Counties, New York and Tioga County, Pennsylvania, as well as their immediate family members, and also including businesses and other legal entities located in the proposed community.

Both of the above institutions are federally insured by either the FDIC or NCUA. If you live in New York and know of a better money market account rate, please share by leaving a comment.

Best money market account rates in New Jersey (Top 3)

Below are the highest yielding money market account rates available to the residents of New Jersey. We have narrowed our selection down to the best 3. One thing to note before proceeding with one of the accounts below is that currently some of the larger national banks are offering money market rates which are slightly more competitive than the ones available to the local residents of New Jersey. You may want to compare money market accounts available nationwide or dig through our archive of money market rates.

The national average for money market rates currently sits at a rather pathetic 1.22% APY, however all of the accounts listed below come with substantially higher yields. Typically MMA rates are accompanied with required balance amounts and in general, you will find higher rates associated with larger balances. If you are strictly after a high interest rate than you may want to check out interest checking accounts as well. They currently offer yields which beat the national average (for MMA rates) by 2-3 times but come with a few strings attached.

Top 3 Money Market Account Rates (New Jersey)

(clicking on the institution will bring you to their rates page)

1. Unity Bank: Whitehouse, New Jersey. “Opportunity Money Market Account” yielding 1.76% APY with a balance of $10k and above. You will only receive an APY of 0.75% APY if your balance slips below the $10k level.
2. Hudson City Savings Bank: New Jersey. MMA yielding 1.75% APY with a balance of $10k or above. This institution serves most of the northeast (not just New Jersey). If your account balance slips below $10k you will only receive 0.75% APY.
3. Grand Bank: Princeton, New Jersey. MMA yielding a phenomenal 3.04% APY with a balance of $50k or more. This is the highest yielding money market account available if you have the required sum of money.

If you reside in NJ and know of a better money market rate offered by your local institution, please share be leaving a comment.

All the banks mentioned above are federally insured by the FDIC and your deposits are secure up to $250,000.

Certificate of Deposit Rates in Connecticut

Below are the top 3 institutions offering the highest rates for certificate of deposits in Connecticut. After researching the top savings rates for this state, I have found only a few rates worth mentioning. In fact, most of the better interest rate options for Connecticut residents come from the large national banks rather than local credit unions and thrifts. Connecticut is one of the US’s most wealthy states (as far as annual salary per person goes) which makes it even more baffling that local banks and credit unions haven’t stepped in to offer these potential customers more enticing rates. If you happen to reside in the state and know of some better deals than the ones listed below please share by leaving a comment.

The rates below come in the form of a 6 month certificates of deposit, 15 month CD, and a 3 year certificate of deposit. All of the bank accounts and rates listed below are available to residents of the state of Connecticut. Keep in mind the fact that these rates are time-sensitive, please refer to date posted at the top.

Top CD rates for Connecticut

(clicking on the institution name below will take you to their rates page)

Hudson City Savings Bank: Serves Connecticut and much of the northeast. Usually this institution has rates that handily beat the national average, however, many of their rates have been drastically slashed recently. Their 6 month CD is your best bet with a current yield of 2.00% APY.

New Alliance Bank: Serves the states of Connecticut and Massachusetts. New Alliance Bank had a peculiar array of certificate of deposit products. They offer odd maturities of 5 month, 10 month and 15 month, rather than conforming to half yearly measures as most institutions do. Their 15 month CD is most likely your best bet, yielding an APY of 2.25%.

Apple Valley Bank and Trust: Serves the state of Connecticut and is based out of Cheshire CT. Apple Valley Bank and Trust offers traditional CD’s as well as IRA CD’s. Your best bet with this institution is with their 3 year CD, currently yielding an APY of 3.00%.

All of the institutions listed above are FDIC insured up to $250,000.