Historical Bank CD Rates (Covering 2009-2011)

We’ve been keeping our fingers crossed for a more promising 2011 for savers (especially those in the market for bank CDs) but haven’t yet seen any reason for much optimism. When discussing the current state of abysmal CD rates we began to think of all the great rates we were so accustomed to seeing in the past. Below is a highlight reel – if you will – of some of the top CD rates of the last two years. Some of these were local offers and some were national ones, and if you happen to be a regular here at BankVibe and specifically remember a sweet product you took advantage of in the past, feel free to dig it out of our archive of CD rates promotions and bring it to our attention!

1) The top deal we found in our archives was a 7 Month CD promotion that we found coming out of Connexus Credit Union (Wisconsin) back in February of 2009. With this product they were offering an astounding 5.00% APY for the 7 month term with deposits of $100k or more, 4.50% APY on deposits between $50k and $99k and still respectable 3.50 % APY on deposits between $1k and $49k. Today, they still offer very noteworthy rates given the current CD rates market, however, you’ll need one of their checking accounts to accompany these deposits. With this checking account you can lock in 6 month CDs with a 1.50% APY, 12 month CDs with a 1.75% APY and 5 year CDs with a 3.0% APY.

2) Regal Financial Bank (out of Seattle, WA) had a promotional 12 month CD yielding a whopping 4.0% APY that could be opened online or over the phone from customers around the country. It was called their “MVP CD” and it came with an minimum deposit requirement of $2,500.

3) Urwin Union Bank’s CD rates were decent but they had one promotion that was phenomenal. Back in June of 2009 they were giving away a free HDTV when you opened an 11 month CD with a minimum deposit of $20k. You might think the abnormally high minimum deposit warranted the free TV, however, they were still shelling out an interest rate of between 1.75% and 2.60% on the deposit to boot!

4) The fourth best deal came from Shore Bank (Virginia). This would have easily been the best offer of the last 5 years throughout the entire country had it come with more flexible deposit amount terms. They had a promotional 3 month CD yielding an astounding 10% APY! The catch? You could only deposit up to $1000 in the account. Still a very incredible offer and a great opportunity for a younger, first-time saver.

5) Another unheard of interest rate came from Elevations Credit Union (out of Colorado) who had a promotional 7 month CD yielding a whopping 7% APY! The catch with this was similar to Shore Bank’s in that you could only deposit $2,000 in the account. Again, not too shabby for any new-B just beginning to shop around for an FDIC insured savings product.

Why show you all these rates on CDs that are no longer eligible and only stand to make you more frustrated? As a sign of hope for 2011. Perhaps, with a bit of luck, towards the end of this year we could see banks competing for our money yet again by throwing promotions like these out on the market for savvy investors to swoop up. Fingers crossed.

Savings account with highest interest rate found at Regal Financial Bank

Much thanks to BankVibe reader Trevor for tipping us off on one of the best savings account rates we’ve seen so far this month. It comes from Regal Financial Bank of Seattle, Washington. It carries an interest rate of 2.96% or 3.00% APY. So yes, the 3.0% APY savings rate still exists!

A few weeks back we noted Regal Financial Bank. At that time they were offering an astounding 12 month CD rate of 4.0% APY for a VERY limited time. Also keep in mind that a couple of strings came attached to that CD rate. The most notable string being the fact that you needed to open another checking/savings account with them in order to qualify for the 12 month CD special. However, with this current high yield savings offer, I believe no additional hoops are required to jump through. You may want to double check and contact a bank rep though because their last 12 month CD promo didn’t have the additional requirements listed on their website.

High Yield Savings Account details:

• to earn the advertised 3.0% APY you must maintain a balance between $2,500 – $250,000 (easy enough)
• Rates are subject to change after account is opened (aka this is a variable interest rate)
• Rates updated March 15, 2009 – typically banks adjust interest rates on a monthly basis to coincide with current economic trends, therefor this rate may be on the verge of an adjustment

3.25% Savings Account through Regal Financial Bank

Another outstanding savings account rate is being offered through Regal Financial Bank.

If you can recall, they are the ones that were offering the impressive 4.0% APY 1 year CD last month, which is no longer available. One thing to keep in mind is that the 1 year CD they were offering in February came with some strings attached and as far as I know there are no strings with this account, however I would still contact one of their representatives before opening. For the 1 year CD, BankVibe reader Ray pointed out that you needed two other accounts with them to qualify (a checking account and savings account).

Nationally, savings account rates sit at around 1.75% on average making this offer extremely lucrative in comparison.

Savings Account Details w/ Regal Financial Bank

• this rate is only good for balances between $2,501 and $250,000
• Rates are subject to change at anytime without notice
• Interest rate on this account is 3.20% (aka 3.25% APY)

If you have any questions about this rate you may email them to Info@regalfinancialbank.com

Also, if you have experience in banking with Regal Financial Bank please let others know by leaving a comment.

12 month CD with rate of 4% APY – Regal Financial Bank (part 2)

A few days ago BankVibe looked into Regal Financial Bank’s 12 month CD (which is currently yielding 4.0% APY). This rate is almost 3 times the current national average for CD rates. Plus it’s available to anyone in the United Sates (even though it’s being offered by a local bank in Seattle, Washington)!

Here is the catch…

In order to qualify for this CD rate you must have: A) 2 other accounts with them. A checking account and a savings account. B) You must initially fund the checking account with $500.00 and the savings account with $1,000.00.

Here is the good news though. If you have a large amount of cash to invest or are looking at purchasing a 12 month jumbo CD this is almost certainly your best bet. After opening the two prerequisite accounts you can invest up to $250,000 in this CD and enjoy the 4.0% APY yields!