Some small credit unions still paying 1.80% APY on 6 mo CDs

If you’ve been in the market for short term certificate of deposits for a while now then I’m sure there isn’t much need for us to iterate the current state of their rates, however for those whom are just entering the marketplace - please realize rates are FAR from decent. If you’ve been scanning through some of the larger national banks’ rate pages for 6 month CDs, 12 month CDs or even 18 month CDs you’ve probably noticed rates being offered at or around 1.0% APY. Our advice would be to consider a credit union, mainly small and exclusive ones, that you may be able to join. Just be sure it’s insured by the NCUA (FDIC equivalent for credit unions).

Here is an example of one tiny-little credit union out of Lenoir County, North Carolina which is currently offering between 1.76% and 1.81% APY on six month CDs. The national average for 6 month CDs currently sits at a pathetic 0.95% APY.

If you deposit between $1,000 and $99,999 into one of Carolina Family Credit Union’s 6 month CDs you will earn 1.76% APY and if you can make this a jumbo CD (ie depositing $100,000 or greater) you can earn 1.81% APY on your deposit.

Carolina Family Credit Union only has one branch and it’s in Lenoir County, North Carolina. They were originally chartered in December of 1975 as Dupont K.P. Employees Federal Credit Union and now operate under their current name; Carolina Family Credit Union. Their single office is located in Kinston, NC after their second office was closed down in 2005. Anyone who lives, works, worships or attends school within Lenoir County is eligible for membership. You may also be eligible if you happen to have family located within the county.

For the top rates in this state you may want to compare this offer to the best CD rates in North Carolina.

Thanks to BankVibe reader Glen for giving us the heads up on this sweet little offer by such a sweet little credit union!

Best 1 year CD rate found at North Carolina bank

BankVibe reader Glenn tipped us off on a fantastic certificate of deposit product being offered through the Bank of Granite in North Carolina. Currently, they are paying out 2.45% APY on 12 month CDs with a minimum deposit of $5,000 required. To put this offer in perspective, the national average for 1 year CD’s sits at roughly 1.55% APY.

Bank of Granite is member FDIC and imposes a fee for early withdrawal on their deposit products. (Penalty is six months of the accumulated interest)

After digging through the rest of Bank of Granite’s savings rate promotions, we found two additional products which definitely deserve mentioning…

1. They have a 6 month CD yielding 1.75% APY with a minimum deposit of $5,000 required. The current national average for six month CD’s sits at roughly 1.05% APY.
2. They also have a “premium money market account” which is yielding 1.50% APY on balances of $15,000 or greater. The national average for money market rates sits at 1.03% APY

Bank of Granite serves Western North Carolina from the Piedmont to the Mountains with 20 offices in eight counties. They have locations in Catawba County, Caldwell County, Burke County, Mecklenburg County, Watauga County, Wilkes County, Forsyth County, and Iredell County.

A couple months ago we made note of the best CD rates in North Carolina and BankVibe reader Glenn left a comment noting that he has called the bank and confirmed this deal.

Best CD Rates in Charlotte, NC: Top 3

Below are the highest yielding CD (certificate of deposit) rates available to the residents of Charlotte, North Carolina. The institutions we will cover all include the following cities in North Carolina: Shallotte, Salisbury, Holy Ridge, Arden, Matthews, Winston Salem, Cary, Concord, Asheville, and Greensboro. These come in the form of 6 month CDs, 12 month CDs and 24 month CDs. After sorting through dozens of rate pages by local community banks and credit unions serving the city of Charlotte as well as the state of North Carolina, we found that for the most part, you will be able to receive slightly better rates with local institutions than with national ones.

Keep in mind interest rates are time-sensitive in nature, so you will want to refer to the date of this article for accuracy. To get the most CD current rates from national banks, compare CD rates nationwide. 

How did we compile this list? As you are probably aware, higher CD rates tend to accompany longer maturities and since we did not want to strictly list long maturity CD’s we decided to list the deposit rates which beat the national average by the highest margins.

Best 6 month CD rates in Charlotte, NC:

• State Employees Credit Union (Charlotte branch) has a 6 month CD yielding 2.0% APY with a minimum deposit of $250 required. 
• Bank of Granite has a 7 month CD yielding 1.95% APY with a minimum deposit of $10,000 required. 
• Park Sterling Bank has a 6 month CD yielding 1.75% APY with a minimum deposit $1,000 required.

Best 12 month CD rates in Charlotte, NC:

• Bank of Granite also has a 13 month promotional CD yielding 2.25% APY with a minimum deposit of $10,000 required.
• Sharonview Federal Credit Union has a 12 month CD yielding 2.25% APY with a minimum deposit of $500 required.
• New Dominion Bank has a 12 month CD yielding 2.05% APY with a minimum deposit of $3,000 required. New Dominion Bank is a national bank and can accept deposits from any state.

Best 24 month CD rates in Charlotte, NC:

• Hudson City Savings Bank has a 24 month CD yielding 2.50% APY with a minimum deposit of $5,000 required. They are also a national bank and can accept deposits from customers throughout the country.
• Carolina Premier Bank has a 24 month CD yielding 2.25% APY with a minimum deposit of $1,000 required. 
• Park Sterling Bank (Charlotte branch) also has a 24 month CD yielding 2.25% APY with a minimum deposit of $1,000 required.

Highest yielding money market account rates in North Carolina

Below are the highest yielding money market account rates serving citizens of the state of North Carolina.

If you are strictly after the best rate then you have a variety of options that will provide you with similar yields. The question you need to ask yourself is, “what type of minimum balance can I keep?” Most money market accounts provide a given interest rate based on a certain account balance. The more money you are able to keep in these accounts, the higher the interest rate you will generally receive.

If you browse through our archive of money market account rates, you will see MMA’s are yielding a lot less than they were this time last year. In fact, the national average for money market rates sits at roughly 1.20% APY currently - this number was well above 3.0% APY during the summer of 2008.

Below I have listed the top 2 banks and/or credit unions serving the state of North Carolina which are offering the best returns on their money market accounts. Keep in mind, you may receive higher rates from larger national banks whom serve the whole country rather than a specific region. Compare money market accounts nationwide to find the optimal account for you.

Top 2 Money Market Account Rates in North Carolina:

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

• State Employees Credit Union: Zebulon, NC. Money market account yielding 2.02% APY with a very modest minimum balance of only $250. The national average for money market rates sits at roughly 1.20% APY, making this is a pretty lucrative offer in comparison. You may encounter a service charge if your balance falls below the $250 mark. The dividends on this account are compounded daily and paid monthly. Like many credit unions, this one comes with some pretty exclusive eligibility requirements. You may join if you fit into the following categories…

1. Employees of the State of North Carolina and Federal employees working in conjunction with State departments
2. Employees of Public Boards of Education
3. Employees of associations formed for the benefit of State employees, such as State Employees’ Association of North Carolina, N.C. Association of Educators, State Employees’ Credit Union, and non-remarried spouses of persons who died while in the field of membership of the Credit Union
4. Persons retired from the above employment as pensioners and/or annuitants from the above employment or services
5. Persons in the immediate family of current Credit Union members (defined as spouses, parents, children, and siblings of a member), persons living in the same residence maintaining a single economic unit with a member, and organizations of such persons
6. Employees of agencies or departments whose employees are subject to the State Personnel Act
   Employees of county, municipal, and related government units (excluding employees of county departments of Social Services, Health, Mental Health, and Civil Defense) who currently have a Credit Union chartered by North Carolina or the Federal Government and who are included in that field of membership are not eligible for membership in the State Employees’ Credit Union
7. All members of the North Carolina National Guard

• Bank of Carolinas: Mocksville, NC. Money market account yielding 2.0% APY with a much higher minimum deposit of $10,000 to open. As with the MMA above, you may encounter fees if your account drops below the $10k mark. If you are looking for a high interest rate on a large sum of money, then you may wish to open their “rewards checking account” which yields a whopping 4.0% APY if you meet all the monthly requirements. To learn more about this, check out our interest checking page. The Bank of Carolinas has 10 locations throughout North Carolina. They operate in Advance, Asheboro, Cleveland, Concord, Harrisburg, King, Landis, Lexington, Mocksville, and Winston-Salem.

Both of the institutions above are federally insured by either the FDIC or NCUA. If you live in North Carolina and know of a better money market account rate offered through your local bank or credit union, please share by leaving a comment.

Best certificate of deposit rates in North Carolina (Top 3)

Below are the Top 3 CD rates available to the residents of North Carolina. The deposit products below are listed by highest yielding interest rate. As you are probably aware, you will find higher interest rates accompanied with longer maturities, therefor we took the CD’s that beat the national average by the highest margins (so that we wouldn’t be strictly listing long-term deposits). After digging through dozens of rate pages by various banks and credit unions serving the state of North Carolina we found that many of the larger national institutions are offering more competitive rates than the local ones serving NC. You may want to compare CD rates nationwide to ensure the best rate. The best rates from local banks/credit unions in North Carolina come in the form of 60 month CDs, 48 month CDs, and 25 month CD’s. There are also a few regional banks which serve North Carolina along with a variety of other states in the southeast, therefor you may want to sift through CD rates in Florida and the CD rates in Georgia to see which institutions are also serving NC.

Top 3 CD rates (North Carolina)

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

Crescent State Bank: Wilmington, NC. 60 month CD yielding 3.35% APY with a minimum deposit amount of $1. Crescent State Bank has a somewhat unique form of certificate of deosit offerings. They offer rates based on tiers of deposit amounts. For example, this 60 month CD is only yielding 3.35% APY for balances between $1 and $9,999, however it yields 3.40% with deposits in the range of $10k-$50k and 3.50% with deposits above $100k. Crescent State Bank is a wholly owned subsidiary of Crescent Financial Corporation. The Bank was opened in December 1998 to meet the financial needs of the communities we service. Crescent State Bank has grown from 11 employees in one office on Kildaire Farm Road in Cary to over 150 employees staffing fifteen offices in Cary (2), Apex, Clayton, Garner, Holly Springs, Knightdale, Pinehurst, Raleigh(3), Sanford, Southern Pines and Wilmington (2) NC.

Live Oak Banking Company: Wilmington, NC. 48 month CD yielding 3.25% APY with a minimum deposit amount of $5,000. LIve Oaks Banking Company specializes in making loans and providing savings products to veterinarians. With 20+ years experience in the animal health care industry, Live Oak Bank has earned a trusted reputation by working almost exclusively with veterinary practices. They claim to understand the challenges unique to that profession. If you have family members that are veternarians (or if you are one yourself) you will most likely be eligible, however if you don’t fit within this niche then you probably wont be able to bank with them.

Blue Harbor Bank: Moorsville, NC. 25 month CD yielding 2.90% APY with a minimum deposit amount of $500. Much like Crescent State Bank, Blue Harbor Bank offers it’s certificate of deposit rates in tiers. However, their tiers are based on ranges of maturity rather that ranges of deposit amounts. Blue Harbor prides itself on being unique and offering a pleasant place to do banking. In each of their three locations they offer free newspapers and coffee and comfortable sitting, so that you can not only conduct your personal banking but also lounge for a bit!

If you reside in North Carolina and know of a better CD rate offered through your local bank, please share by leaving a comment!

15 month CD special by Fort Financial Credit Union

…So here is the latest in BankVibe’s quest for 3.0% APY FDIC insured investments: Fort Financial Credit Union out of North Carolina is offering customers using new money a 15 month CD yielding 3.05% APY (if you are already banking with them and cannot fund this account with new money they will still offer you a respectable 2.75% for the same 15 month duration.)

It’s a bit discouraging to say the least that we can’t get over this 3.0% APY hump that seems to be in place for shorter term deposits, but local credit unions and banks are constantly running CD rate promotions that will at least crush the current national averages.

To sign up for Fort Financial Credit Union’s “Spring Savings Special” CD rates you must first become a member. Like many credit unions there are geographical restrictions in place for membership.

If you live in the following cities you may be eligible for membership:

Corinth, Mississippi
Fort Wayne, Indiana
Gastonia, North Carolina
Janesville, Wisconsin
Marion, Indiana
Morganton, North Carolina
South Beloit, Illinois

See more details on who can join.

If you know of a short term deposit (6 - 18 months) yielding 3.0% PLUS please let us know about it by leaving a comment!