Tennessee Commerce Bank’s certificate of deposit rates

Recently, Tennessee Commerce Bank has been showing some very competitive rates with their savings accounts and certificate of deposit products, so we figured we give you a run-down of their current offerings. Currently they have an online savings account that is yielding 2.30% APY for balances up to $100k. This account has a second tier which accommodates balances of $100k and above and it only yields an APY of 1.50%.

A Note From Tennessee Commerce Bank: We are a different kind of bank, a true “business bank,” we have built-in cost efficiencies that translate into better rates for our customers. Check our rates against the competition and we think you’ll find that TCB takes care of you…and your business

Tennessee Commerce Bank CD Rates:

(as seen on their rates page)

Terms and Conditions:

A minimum deposit amount of $2,500 is required to open. Annual Percentage Yields (APY) for deposit instruments with no maturities or maturities of less than one year assume reinvestment at the current rate for original term. Interest is accrued daily and compounded monthly. Interest rates are subject to change without notice. An interest penalty is required on early withdrawal of time deposits. Regular fees or other conditions could reduce the yield

Discover Bank’s New Online Savings Account

Just yesterday Discover Bank launched two new noteworthy products. The first was their no penalty 12 month CD and the second was their online savings account.

Discover Bank’s online savings account is currently yielding a very respectable 2.00% APY. Some of the features of this account include: low opening deposit plus no minimum balance, fast and free online money transfers and the ability to set up automatic transfers from any checking or savings account.

Fee schedule for Discover Bank’s Online Savings Account:

Inbound Money Transfer: Free

Outbound Money Transfer: Free

Incoming Domestic Wire: Free

Foreign Check Conversion: At Cost

Excessive Withdrawal (per item): $15.00

Outgoing Domestic Wire:$20.00

Outgoing International Wire: $40.00

The rate associated with this account is a variable one and is subject to change without notice. Comapre online savings account rates.

Darby Direct’s High Yield Online Savings Account

…Just when we thought the 3.0% APY savings rate ceased to exist!

Thanks to BankVibe reader Bret for tipping us off on a very lucrative deal from Darby Direct. Currently they are offering ANYONE in the United States an online savings account yielding 3.00% APY!

If you have been shopping around for online savings accounts then you probably have noticed that the dominant powerhouses within this industry are offering some of the lowest rates in the history of their existence. ING Direct, WTDirect, and E-Trade are all offering rates on their savings products below 2.0% APY, making this Darby-Direct rate fairly rewarding in comparison.

Darby Direct Online Savings Account Features:

(as of 11/08)

• no minimum balance requirements
• no monthly fees
• 3.0% APY (average savings account rate sits at 1.55% APY)
• available to anyone within the US with a valid social security number
• FDIC insured up to $250,000

One thing to note is that this is a variable interest rate and is subject to change without prior notice. The last time Darby Direct altered their interest rates was in November of 2008, which could lead one to believe that it may be changing soon as interest rates rarely remain the same over a 6 month time frame.

For additional questions regarding this account you may contact a representative at, phone: 1-866-599-4256

Other savings accounts yielding 3.0% APY or more:

Redneck Bank’s Mega Money Market Account – 3.10% APY

Smarty Pig’s Savings Account (with a web 2.0 attitude!) – 3.05% APY

AmericaNet Bank Mega Money Market – 3.10% APY

Another savings rate drop from E-Trade

E-Trade dropped it’s savings rate from 1.95% apy down to 1.70% apy, making this their fourth rate drop in 2009. The new savings rate has become effective today (March 13, 2009).

Online savings accounts in general have been out of favor for conservative investors lately, giving way to other savings platforms such as peer to peer lending and high yield checking.

E-trade isn’t the only online savings institution dropping their rates; HSBC, WTDirect, ING Direct and GMAC Bank have all decreased their rates by 15 – 30% since the beginning of 2009.

Some Good News from E-Trade

If you are looking into setting up an IRA or Roth IRA in the near future, E-trade may be your best bet. Currently, they are giving away $800 in free trades to anyone who opens an IRA account with them by December 31, 2009.

Online Savings Account rate changes – March 2009

We are 3 days into March now and have yet another downward trend of online savings account rates. In most cases one or two online savings institutions will drop their rates and within days (or even hours) the rest seem to follow suit. If you can recall, during most of 2006-2008 (until the bank collapse) these same savings accounts were trending upward, following each other’s pace.

Current Online Savings Rates

E-TRADE Bank 1.95% APY – Down from 3.01% two months ago.

ING Direct 1.65% APY – Down from the mid 2.0′s as of two months ago.

HSBC Direct 2.25% APY – While HSBC Direct has lowered it’s rate some, it’s changes remain less sporadic and seems to be a favorite amongst banking consumers.

WTDirect 2.01% APY – WTDirect typically keeps their online savings rates within the top 5%, however, they require a minimum balance of $10,000 in order to recieve their rates.

Posssible alternative to online savings accounts

After posting an alternative to Bank CD’s last week, much excitement/commotion was generated over the possiblity of earning 6.50% APY + through Peer to Peer lending platforms. Lending Club allows you to lend your money to prime borrowers and earn anywhere from 6.69% to 19.37% APY (depending on the credit score YOU require from a borrower). If you read the article from last week you will see that everyone who commented generally had positive things to say. Keep in mind, if you are after FDIC insured investments, then Peer to Peer lending is probably not for you.