2.0% APY Bank CD Rates – How long do you need to invest?

In the past (say pre-2008), 2.0% APY savings rates or CD rates were considered extremely uncompetitive interest rates. Even 6 month CD rates were yielding twice that amount and liquid savings accounts such as money market accounts and online savings account were even providing rates more twice the amount as well. Today’s savings market is, needless to say, a whole new ball came. Today, A bank CD yielding 2.0% APY generally requires you to commit your money for 3 years or greater. However, we just came across a decent offer from ESB Bank out of Pennsylvania. Currently, ESB Bank has a promotional 30 month CD yielding 2.02% APY with a minimum deposit of $500 required.

Unfortunately for most of us this deal is off the table. ESB Bank operates out of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania and has 6 branches within the city. They also have 18 offices in surrounding counties.

About ESB Bank:

ESB Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: ESBF), a publicly traded financial services company, provides a wide range of retail and commercial financial products and services to customers in Western Pennsylvania though its wholly owned subsidiary, ESB Bank.

Compare this offer with other Pennslyvania CD rates.

NOVA Bank CD rates and review

Philadelphia based NOVA Bank has several branch locations throughout Pennsylvania as well as two branches in New Jersey (Deptford and Woodbury Heights). They operate as a Pennsylvania state-chartered savings bank and are subject to regulations imposed by the Pennsylvania Department of Banking and by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporations (the “FDIC”). NOVA Bank has operated as a community banking institution for more than 120 years and provides a wide-range of financial products and services to the greater Philadelphia region. Through various delivery points, NOVA Bank offers personal banking services, business banking services, financial planning, and wealth management services. These services are offered directly through NOVA’s subsidiary NOVA Financial Services, Inc. and through NOVA affiliate partners.

Within the personal banking services sector they provide money market accounts, checking accounts, certificates of deposit and interest checking accounts. They typically offer above average rates on their deposits and are frequently noted in BankVibe’s top CD rates charts.

NOVA Bank CD Rates (as of June 1, 2010):

- 3 month CD rate yielding 0.75% APY with minimum deposit of $500 required.

- 6 month CD rate yielding 1.20% APY with minimum deposit of $500 required.

- 12 month CD rate yielding 1.50% APY with minimum deposit of $500 required.

- 18 month CD rate yielding 1.75% APY with minimum deposit of $500 required.

- 2 year CD rate yielding 1.95% APY with minimum deposit of $500 required.

- 3 year CD rate yielding 2.30% APY with minimum deposit of $500 required.

- 4 year CD rate yielding 2.55% APY with minimum deposit of $500 required.

- 5 month CD rate yielding 2.85% APY with minimum deposit of $500 required.

Terms and Conditions:

-Rates are subject to change at any time. APY accurate as of Wednesday, May 19, 2010. Minimum balance to open and obtain the stated APY is $500.00. Fees could reduce earnings. There is a substantial penalty for early withdrawal. These rates apply only to accounts opened at NOVA Bank business centers providing account opening services to the following counties: Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia Counties in Pennsylvania AND Gloucester and Camden Counties in New Jersey. Please call 1-877-NOVABANK for rates available in other counties or out of state.

Hyperion Bank CD Rate Specials and Promotions

Hyperion Bank, based out of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania currently has some pretty lucrative CD rates given the current market for savings accounts. Their best products come in the form of short term CD rates. They have a 3 month CD special available as of May, 18, 2010 which offers a return of 1.15% APY with a minimum deposit of just $399.00 required. To put this offer in perspective, the national average for 3 month CDs sits at around 0.30% APY.

About Hyperion Bank:

Hyperion Bank claims to be the first community bank to locate in the urban section of Philadelphia in more than 20 years, opening its doors in November of 2006 in the Northern Liberties area, about a mile and a half north of the Liberty Bell. They chose this site because of its extensive residential redevelopment, expanding small businesses and deep-rooted neighborhood residents.

In addition to bringing a new urban banking center to the neighborhood, Hyperion Bank also brought urban revitalization. Housed in a stunning red brick building (above) that over a century ago was Philadelphia’s Eighth National Bank, their initial branch and corporate headquarters, located at the northeast corner of Second Street and Girard Avenue, was a vacant warehouse for the last couple of decades. Now the 135 year old bank building has been restored to its original 1871 grandeur, has received an award from the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia and is a signature footprint in the area’s urban revitalization.

Current CD Rates offered through Hyperion Bank:

- 30 day CD yielding 0.65% APY with a minimum deposit of $399 required.

- 3 month CD special yielding 1.15% APY with a minimum deposit of $399 required.

- 6 month CD yielding 0.85% APY with a minimum deposit of $399 required.

- 9 month CD yielding 1.00% APY with a minimum deposit of $399 required.

- 12 month CD yielding 1.15% APY with a minimum deposit of $399 required.

To get a better idea of CD rates in this region you may want to compare this offer with the best CD rates in Pennslyvania or the top CD rates in Philadelphia.

Recent News for Hyperion Bank:

- In February of this year Hyperion Bank was held up and robbed at gun point by an unkown man standing around 5’6″ and as of February of this year, the criminal who robbed this bank was still at large. Read Full Story.

Best CD Rates in Philadelphia, PA: Top 3

Below are the highest yielding CD (certificate of deposit) rates available to the residents of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 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 Philadelphia as well as the state of Pennsylvania, we found that for the most part, you will be able to receive slightly better rates with national institutions than with local 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 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania:

• Harleysville National Bank and Trust Company has a 6 month CD yielding 1.90% APY with a minimum deposit of $500 required. They have locations throughout PA and atleast one location (either branch or ATM) in Philadelphia.
• Philadelphia Federal Credit Union has a 6 month CD yielding 1.90% APY with a minimum deposit of $10,000 required. They are headquartered in Philadelphia. 
• American Heritage Federal Credit Union has a 6 month CD yielding 1.80% APY with a minimum deposit of only $1000 required. They have locations in Philadelphia and Horsham, PA.

Best 12 month CD rates in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania:

• Freedom Credit Union has a 12 month CD yielding 2.05% APY with a minimum deposit of $500 required. They have locations throughout PA.
• Police and Fire Federal Credit Union has a 12 month CD yielding 2.0% APY with minimum deposit of $500. They have locations in Philadelphia and Elkins Park, PA.
• Republic First Bank has a 12 month CD yielding 2.0% APY with a minimum deposit of $500 required. They have locations in Philadelphia and Abington, PA.

Best 24 month CD rates in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania:

• Police and Fire Federal Credit Union also has a 24 month CD yielding 2.50% APY with a minimum deposit of $500. This credit union is fairly strict with it’s membership eligibility but has several locations throughout the state.
• American Heritage Federal Credit Union has a 24 month CD yielding 2.40% APY with a minimum deposit of $500 required. They have locations in Philadelphia and Horsham, PA.
• Huntington Valley Bank has a 27 month CD yielding 2.35% APY with a minimum deposit of $500 required. They have locations in Philadelphia and Huntington Valley.

Best certificate of deposit rates in Pennsylvania (Top 3)

Below are the top 3 CD rates available to residents in the state of Pennsylvania. Many of the institutions listed below will require you to actually stop in to one of their branches in order to sign-up and make the deposit into a CD account. After researching the highest yielding CD rates in Pennsylvania we found that the best rates come in the form of 20 month CDs, 36 month CDs and 60 month CDs. As you may already know, the highest yields generally come with the longest maturities, therefor when compiling this list we took the CD rates that beat the national average by the highest margins. You should also note that several local institutions within the state conduct CD promotions which are advertised only locally. So you may want to stop into your local branch and see what type of CD rate deals are going on (if any). A few weeks ago we covered Miners Bank and their phenomenal 24 month CD rate promotion which was yielding an unheard of 4.06% APY. Unfortunately for most Pennsylvania residents there was only a 2 week window in which you could apply.

Note: Sometimes national banks can offer better rates than local banks and credit unions (depending on where you live) so you may want to compare nationally available CD rates with the ones listed below.

Top 3 CD rates (Pennsylvania)

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

East River Bank: Philadelphia, PA. 20 month CD yielding 2.65% APY with a minimum deposit amount of $2,000. This is a “special offer” by East River Bank and is only available for a limited time. East River Bank is a very small institution and only has two branches. One is located in Roxborough and the other is located in East Falls. East River’s mission statement is somewhat bland – to provide superior returns to it’s shareholders by combining quality products and services.

Police and Fire Federal Credit Union: Philadelphia, PA. 36 month CD yielding 3.25% APY with a minimum deposit amount of $500. Police and Fire FCU has very competitve CD rates for each maturity. A few of their other stand-out rates are a 24 month CD yielding 2.75% APY and their 5 year CD, which is yielding a whopping 4.0% APY. Generally employment-specific credit unions will offer more competitive rates than local banks simply becuase they are exclusive to join, they are not-for-profit and (in this instance) they are stricly serving city and federal employees. To become a member of this credit union you must either work in law enforcement or any other general emergency response organization within the greater Philadelphia region. You may also be eligible if you have family members within that employment niche.

Berks Community Federal Credit Union: Sinking Spring, PA. 60 month CD yielding 3.56% APY with a minimum deposit of $500. Berks Community Federal Credit Union was originally chartered as Dana Reading Federal Credit Union in 1953 by a small group of Parish Pressed Steel employees. Tired of poor service and interest rates at local banks, they formed the credit union to provide the Parish Pressed Steel employees with an alternative financial institution. Over the years, the credit union continued to grow. Today, they now serve approximately 8,000 members and have assets exceeding $47 million.

Pennsylvania State Employees Credit Union also has some noteworthy savings products. They are the 12th largest credit union in the United States. Membership is available nationally.

If you know of a CD rate higher than ones we have listed within the state of Pennsylvania, please share by leaving a comment!