TD Bank Upping their Fee Structure Once More

It’s only been months since TD Bank raised the fees associated with some of their checking accounts, now they’re bumping up the costs of other established fees.

New Cost of Fees for TD Bank Customers:

Wire Transfers:

Old Cost – $10. New Cost – $15.

Money Orders:

Old Cost – $4. New Cost – $5.

Certified Checks:

Old Cost – $4. New Cost – $8.

Stop Payment Fees:

Old Cost – $25. New Cost – $30.

Also, if you happen to hold one of their liquid savings accounts (like a money market account) you may be hit with an additional fee when you make too many withdrawals and/or transactions. On some of these accounts, if you go over your 6 allowed monthly transactions, you’ll get dinged 9 bucks.

Granted these aren’t your typical everyday transactional fees or general, wide-sweeping fees, in which Bank of America was considering imposing, but they are still another drop in the bucket for already wavering big banks.

Big bank consumers in general have been put off by the imposition of new and/or additional fees their banks have been imposing throughout much of 2011. This has lead to a boon in new accounts for local credit unions as well as highly publicized disgust of the big banks through social media outlets.

TD Bank CD Rates 2011

In the continuing coverage of 2011′s CD rates offered by the largest banks in the country, we’d like to quickly highlight the deposit rates offered at TD Ameritrade. Most of you probably recognize this company for it’s brokerage and retirement planning services, however, TD Bank has grown to be an extremely large player in personal banking as well. They offer a vast array of personal banking products which can be facilitated online. Their CD rates, however, aren’t much different than those offered by the other large institutions we’ve covered this month – which have been terrible to say the least.

The CD rates we are noting below come from TD Bank’s New York branches, however, we venture to guess their rates hardly change from state to state. To getter a better idea of how little TD Bank’s CD rates have changed over the last half year check out their historical APY’s in our previous link.

TD Bank CD Rates 2011:

(rates accurate as of March 2011 from New York branches)

- 6 month CD yielding 0.35% APY with a minimum deposit requirement of $250.

- 11 month “promotional” CD yielding 0.50% APY with a minimum deposit requirement of $250.

- 12 month CD yielding 0.40% APY with a minimum deposit requirement of $250.

- 3 year CD yielding 1.05% APY with a minimum deposit requirement of $250.

- 5 year CD yielding 1.28% APY with a minimum deposit requirement of $250.

You may want to note that TD Bank’s 3 year and 5 year CDs are called “step rate” CDs and their interest rates get progressively larger as they mature. For example, their 3 year CD comes with an APY of 1.05%, however, the rates are “stepped up” each year. The first year provides and APY of 0.75%, the second year 1.00% and the third year 1.39%.

Also Note:

• Convenience of one penalty-free withdrawal per term
• No monthly maintenance fee

Best Auto Loan Rates in Boston, Massachusetts (Top 3)

If you happen to reside in Boston, MA and are in the market for a new or used car loan (or if you’d simply like to refinance your existing auto loan) you may want to stop by one of the institutions mentioned below. We’ve seen a few noteworthy auto loan rates come our way out of Boston, Massachusetts, so we thought we’d dedicate an entire post to finding today’s best rates in that region.

Auto loan rates in general have dropped drastically over the last year and large numbers of vehicle owners have opted to refinance their car loan to take advantage of current interest rate levels. You may find better rates through dealer financing on new vehicles, but with an auto loan from a bank or credit union you will be treated as a cash buyer by the dealer. This could lead to greater leverage in the negotiation process.

Boston, MA Auto Loan Rates (Top 3):

(Rates accurate as of March 2011. Please visit the individual institution’s website for updated rate information if you believe this article to be out dated.)

- Eastern Bank, based out of Boston, MA, has a 60 month new car loan going for 4.99% APR.

- TD Bank’s Boston based branches have a 60 month new car loan going for 5.74% APR.

- Salem Five Bank has a 60 month new car loan going for 6.74% APR.

To put the offers above in perspective, the national average for 36 month auto loans and 48 month auto loans sits at roughly 5.49% APR and 4.91% APR respectively.

If you live in the greater Boston area and know of a better auto loan rate being offered through your local bank or credit union, please share by leaving a comment!

TD Bank CD Rates and Review

TD Bank offers a unique set of CD (certificate of deposit) products for both consumers and businesses. What sets their deposit product offerings apart from other credit unions and banks is that they offer “Step Up” CD’s which basically come with incrementally increasing interest rates as your deposit gets closer to maturity. Below are the going rates for these CD’s. As a side note their personal CD’s are currently yielding slightly lower rates than the national average for CD rates.

About TD Bank:

TD Bank claims to be America’s most convenient bank (so much so that they’ve actually trademarked the term “America’s most convenient bank”). They are one of the 15 largest banks in the United States with $160 billion in assets, and provides customers with a full range of financial products and services at more than 1,100 retail stores throughout the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Metro D.C. and Florida.

Company History:

The company first opened its doors as Portland Savings Bank in Portland, Maine, in 1852, and later grew through a series of mergers and became Peoples Heritage Bank in 1983. At the turn of the millennium, the opportunity for growth presented itself again as Peoples Heritage Bank, through several acquisitions, expanded deeper into New England and took the name Banknorth.

Meanwhile, Cherry Hill, New Jersey-based Commerce Bank was turning Customers into Fans as America’s Most Convenient Bank. Founded in 1973, Commerce Bank expanded rapidly over the next 30 years into metro New York and Philadelphia, Washington D.C., and South Florida, winning new Customers with WOW! service and convenience.

In 2004, Banknorth caught the eye of TD Bank Financial Group of Toronto, Canada, a top 10 financial services company in North America. TD Bank Financial Group soon became Banknorth’s majority shareholder and the company became known as TD Banknorth. TD Bank Financial Group completed its purchase of TD Banknorth in 2007.

Looking to expand further in the U.S., TD Bank Financial Group acquired Commerce Bank on March 31, 2008, and the company rebranded as TD Bank, America’s Most Convenient Bank. TD Banknorth locations followed suit in September 2009, completing the merger of the two companies and uniting them under the TD Bank brand name.

Today, TD Bank, America’s Most Convenient Bank, remains focused on delivering award-winning Customer service and hassle-free products to Customers from Maine to Florida.

Current CD Rates offered by TD Bank:

Basic CD’s

- 9 month CD yielding 0.65% APY with a minimum deposit of $250 required. The current national average for 6 month CDs sits at roughly 0.78% APY (to put this offer in perspective).

- Other terms available, contact a local rep for current rates.

No Catch CD’s

- 6 month CD yielding 0.45% APY with a minimum deposit of $250 required and one penalty-free withdrawal allowed.

- 12 month CD yielding 0.40% APY with a minimum deposit of $250 required and one penalty-free withdrawal allowed.

Step Rate CD’s

- 3 year CD yielding 1.47% APY. Year 1 yields 0.90% APY, year 2 yeilds 1.24% APY and year 3 yields 2.24% APY.

- 5 year CD yielding 1.80% APY. Year 1 yields 0.75% APY, year 2 yeilds 1.00% APY, year 3 yields 1.74% APY, year 4 yields 2.23% APY and year 5 yields 3.20% APY.

* For the Step Rate CD the annual percentage yield is a Composite APY. The APY assumes each stated interest rate will be in effect for the length of time identified (one (1) year period).

TD Bank has locations in Connecticut, Washington D.C., New Jersey, New York, New Hampshire, Florida, Massachussetts, Maryland, Maine, Pennsylvania, Vermont and Virginia.

Also check out: TD Bank’s Checking Account Bonus

TD Bank Checking Account Bonus: Flip Camcorder

TD Bank has a pretty sweet bonus available for anyone living in Florida in need of a new checking account. Currently, when you are approved for a new personal checking account online or through one of TD Bank’s branches you will receive a new Flip Ultra Camcorder (which retails for about $150)!

Thanks to BankVibe reader Sam for submitting this offer!

TD Bank will mail you a Flip Ultra Camcorder once you have:

• Used your Visa Debit Card for 8 purchases; and
• Made 2 payments with Online Bill Pay within 45 days of account opening

It will take about 6 weeks for TD Bank to mail you the camcorder. The offer ends on June 5, 2010.

Both banks and credit unions have been issuing checking account bonuses regularly throughout 2010 in attempts to grab new customers. You may want to compare this offer with BankVibe.com’s top checking account promotions in 2010.