Best CD Rates Info

So far, the certificates of deposit reviewed by Best CD Rates Info have all been from traditional financial institutions; that is, banks and savings & loan associations. However, for a few years now insurance companies have been able to provide banking services also, so we decided to see if we could find some high interest rate CDs from an insurance company.

Our search for the best CD rates lead us to a review of State Farm Bank CD rates. Two State Farm CDs caught our attention. One is a promotional short term CD, the other is a long term CD, so you could cover two rungs of your CD ladder with these products!

The State Farm Bank 9 Month CD is being offered at a very interesting promotional rate as of the date of this writing. This CD currently offers an interest rate of 3.10 percent, and an Annual Percentage Yield of 3.15. In our opinion, that’s not a bad rate for a short-term CD, especially when you consider that the minimum deposit for this CD is only $500.

The State Farm Bank 5 Year CD also has an attractive rate, both in the jumbo CD and non-jumbo (standard) versions. The State Farm standard five year CD is currently offered with an interest rate of 3.44 percent and an Annual Percentage Yield of 3.50 percent, and has a minimum opening balance of $500. The State Farm jumbo five year CD is currently being offered with an interest rate of 3.49 percent and an Annual Percentage Yield of 3.55 percent.

So, whether you are looking for a short term or long-term CD, you may want to add State Farm Bank to your lists of CD providers to consider. Rates and terms can vary, so please be sure to check the State Farm Bank web site for their current offerings in your area.

Regions Bank is one of the top ten banks in the United States, with locations in sixteen states. Regions Bank also has an online banking division, called RegionsNet. For our latest review, Best CD Rates Info decided to continue our search for the best CD deals by looking at the certificates of deposit offered by Regions Bank.

Regions Bank CDs can be had for very short terms or longer terms, fitting virtually any investment plan. Specifically, RegionsBank Certificates of Deposit range in term lengths from seven days to six years. While the minimum deposit for certificates of deposit with terms less than ninety days is $2,500, for Regions CDs with terms of ninety days or more the minimum deposit is only $500 — making the Regions Bank CD one of the lowest minimum deposits that we have reviewed.

Customers with another Regions Bank account can receive an interest rate bonus on their Regions CD. You can apply for a Regions Bank CD either online or at a branch. Though not unusual in a fixed rate CD, you may want to note that Regions Bank charges a “substantial penalty for early withdrawal.”

The low minimum deposit and wide range of terms give a lot of flexibility to the Regions Bank CDs, so their products can appeal to a wide range of investors. Rates and other terms can vary with time and by region, so you should be sure to check on the Regions Bank web site to confirm the Regions Bank offerings available in your area.

IndyMac Bank is a California based financial institution that bills itself as the 7th largest savings and loan in the United States, and it is traded on the New York Stock Exchange. IndyMac Bank has recently advertised an Online 10 Month CD Special that is definitely worth checking out, especially if you would like a high interest cd without tying up your money for a full year or more.

In keeping with our search here at Best CD Rates Info for high interest CDs, this Indy Mac certificate of deposit has an annual interest rate of 3.97 percent, and an Annual Percentage Yield of 4.05 percent. As you can tell by the name, this IndyMac online special CD has a ten month term.

It is not very common to see an interest rate and yield this high for a term less than a year, making it one of the best CD rates that we’ve seen for such a short term. One thing to note is that the minimum investment for this CD rate is $5,000. Also, like many certificates of deposit, this IndyMac online CD does charge penalties for withdrawing the money before the end of the term.

This IndyMac CD is advertised as a Special, so you may want to visit the IndyMac web site for more information soon, and to confirm the rates and terms that are available in your area. Although this offer is still being advertised as of the date of this posting, with these kinds of terms this special CD may not last too long!

Best CD Rates Info has already presented one article on WaMu CD rates. However, since Washington Mutual is the largest savings and loan association in the U.S., WaMu has several certificates of deposit to choose from. Therefore, it seems worth looking at another one of their offerings. This time, our quest for the best CD rates has us reviewing the Washington Mutual Traditional CD.

WaMu provides many options for the term length of the Traditional CD, and interest rates vary with the length of the term. WaMu offers the Traditional CD with terms running from one month in length to one hundred and twenty months in length. Since we’re mostly interested in finding the highest CD rates, for this review we will focus on WaMu Traditional CDs with a term of forty-eight months or greater.

For Traditional CDs with terms ranging from 48 to 120 months, Washington Mutual offers an interest rate of 4.17 percent, which produces and Annual Percentage Yield of 4.25 percent. To us, that is a pretty impressive rate. It is even more impressive when you consider that the minimum deposit for the Traditional CD is only $1,000. That’s much less than many banks require to get into a high interest CD.

So, if you are interested in a longer-term CD with a good interest rate and a low minimum deposit, you should check into the WaMu Traditional CD. CD rates and details can vary by geographic location and change with time, so please visit the Washington Mutual web site to confirm the current rates and terms available in your town.

HSBC is the largest banking organization in the world, and in fact, HSBC is the largest company in the world. Here at Best CD Rates Info, we decided to begin our review of HSBC CD rates by starting with the certificates of deposit offered by HSBC Direct — the online banking division of HSBC. The two HSBC Direct CDs both go by the name of HSBC Direct Online CD.

The first HSBC Online CD that we will mention here is the six-month term Online CD. This CD promises an Annual Percentage Yield of 2.85%, and requires a minimum deposit of $5,000.

The other HSBC Online CD that is available is the nine-month term HSBC Online CD. This CD gives an Annual Percentage Yield of 2.90%, and also requires a $5,000 minimum deposit.

Both of these HSBC CDs carry a penalty for early withdrawal equal to 30 days of simple interest. Additionally, according to HSBC, both of these CDs are “FDIC insured to the maximum permitted by law.” Both of these CDs can be applied for online, funded online, and offer online account management. Additionally, both of these HSBC CDs allow you to chose to automatically roll over your balance into another HSBC Online CD of the same term, at the Annual Percentage Yield that is in effect at the time.

Because the interest rates for CDs and other terms can vary, please check the HSBC Direct web site to confirm the current terms available. If you are looking for a short-term CD with a high interest rate, which can be applied for online, these HSBC Direct Online CDs may be of interest to you.

ING Direct is a virtual (branchless) bank that is part of the mega-sized ING Group, an Amsterdam-based financial institution that is one of the ten largest companies in the world. Best CD Rates Info set about reviewing ING Direct CD rates, and we do have to admit that we were a bit surprised to find that there was only one type of product offered: the ING Orange CD.

However, the ING Direct Orange CD comes in varying terms and interest rates, so there are plenty of choices to consider. There are about nine different term lengths from which to choose, so you can get an ING CD ranging from six months to sixty months.

The Annual Percentage Yield (APY) on these ING Direct CDs varies with the length of the term. For six, nine and twelve month term ING CDs, we found the Annual Percentage Yield to be 3.30%. ING CD’s with terms ranging from eighteen to 48 months were found to have an APY of 2.50%. When we checked, the ING CD Rate for a sixty month term was 3.00% APY.

We give the ING Direct Orange CD credit for convenience, since you can apply for (and fund) ING Direct CDs right online. ING states that its deposits are FDIC insured. Since CD rates and other details can vary, please check the ING Direct web site to see the current terms that are available. These ING CDs would seem to be especially interesting for those looking for CDs with terms equal or less than 12 months.

As the largest commercial bank in the United States, Bank of America offers a wide array of savings products for its customers. Naturally, in our quest to find the best CD rates available, Best CD Rates Info was eager to review Bank of America CD rates to see what they have to offer. After reviewing several of their CD offerings, the one we found most interesting was the Bank of America Opt-Up CD.

We reviewed the Bank of America CD rates for a couple of different regions, and found the Opt-Up CD being offered in both with an interest rate of 2.96% and an Annual Percentage Yield of 3.00%. Those numbers are for those customers who qualify for Bank of America’s “preferred rate” (the non-preferred rate for this CD is a 2.71% interest rate and a 2.75% APY). The Bank of America Opt-Up CD is only offered as a 30-month CD. The minimum balance for the CD is $10,000 (the maximum is $500,000). However, the really interesting aspect of the Bank of America Opt-Up CD is the “opt-up” feature.

The opt-up feature gives the customer a one-time opportunity to increase the interest rate of the CD. The customer can make the election to increase the interest rate for the CD after the first six months of the term has passed, provided that interest rates have increased since the initial rate. Once the customer makes the election, the bank will look at the initial rate (example: 3.00%) and the then-current rate (example 4.00%) and increase the customer’s interest rate by adding half of the difference (for our example, 3.50%).

This makes the Bank of America Opt-Up CD an interesting option for those who feel that interest rates may be rising soon. Please note: Certificate of Deposit rates may vary by region, and may change quickly, so if you are looking for a high interest rate CD please check the Bank of America web site to confirm rates and availability in your area.

Washington Mutual (WaMu) is the largest savings and loan association in the United States, so it seems appropriate that Best CD Rates Info should review Washington Mutual CD rates in our quest for the best CD rates. After reviewing the WaMu CD rates available in several regions, it is our opinion that WaMu’s most interesting CD right now is the WaMu Online CD.

We found the Online CD advertised with an interest rate of 3.93%, giving it an Annual Percentage Yield of 4.00%. Now, in our opinion a four percent yield sounds pretty good these days, but you really need to learn more about the Online CD to appreciate its appeal.

That 4 percent yield is currently available in either a 48 month CD or a 60 month CD. Even better, the minimum deposit required for the Online CD is only $1,000 — a good bit less than some banks require for a yield like this. Convenience is also part of the Online CD’s appeal, as you can apply online and receive statements electronically (please note that WaMu’s Free Online Banking and electronic statements are required). The WaMu web site states “total deposits with Washington Mutual are FDIC insured to the maximum allowed by law.”

Given all of the information above, in our opinion it seems worth keeping an eye on Washington Mutual Bank CD rates when shopping for a high interest rate CD. Because CD rates and details can vary by region and change with time, please visit the WaMu web site to confirm the current terms available in your area.

Wachovia Bank is now one of the largest banks in the United States, so at Best CD Rates Info we were interested to see how Wachovia Bank CD Rates stack up to the competition. While Wachovia has many different types of certificates of deposit, for this article we chose to focus on the absolutely highest CD rate of return (without accounting for individual tax rates).

This search for the highest cd rate available leads us to the Wachovia Featured Certificate of Deposit. First and foremost, information about the high interest rate: in our region we found this Wachovia CD to have an interest rate of 4.64%, resulting in an Annual Percentage Yield of 4.75%. That is a pretty impressive rate for a fixed rate CD.

That rate is for a Wachovia Featured Certificate of Deposit for a term of 60 months, so you do have to tie up your funds for five years. There is also a minimum deposit of $5,000 to get this high interest CD — and an early withdrawal can result in a penalty of up to 180 days worth of interest, depending upon how soon the funds are withdrawn.

According to Wachovia, there are no fees associated with this certificate of deposit. Also, Wachovia states that funds in CDs are insured by the FDIC for up to $100,000. In order to sign up for the Wachovia Featured CD, you must also open a Wachovia checking account.

CD rates often vary by region, and sometimes change rapidly, so be sure to check the Wachovia web site to confirm availability in your area. Overall, this high interest rate Wachovia CD definitely sounds like an interesting investment option that is worth investigating further.

Welcome to Best CD Rates Info! At Best CD Rates Info, we search the internet to find the best CD rates that are presently being offered. A low-risk, high interest Certificate of Deposit can be an excellent addition to your investment portfolio.

With any CD, there are a few CD basics to be familiar with. The first variable to be aware of with any certificate of deposit is the term of the CD. CD terms vary with each bank and with each specific CD, but generally range between six months and five years. While a longer term can sometimes translate into higher interest rates, that is not always the case.

The CD interest rate is the rate of interest that the bank will pay on the certificate of deposit. Most CDs have a fixed rate of interest, which guarantees that you will get the interest rate that is advertised for the CD. Certificates of Deposit generally have higher interest rates than savings accounts, because with a CD you are committing to keep your money with the bank for a fixed period of time. Though it is true that the interest rates on certificates of deposit often are not as high as the rate of return on stocks, a CD is a much less risky investment and might therefore be an excellent choice to balance the risk in your investment portfolio.

The third variable to be aware of with CDs is the minimum deposit. This minimum investment also varies with each individual bank, and can vary with the specific investment. While many of the highest interest CDs require a large minimum deposit, that is not always the case.

A final item to be aware of with CD’s is the withdrawal provisions. While some banks may allow you to withdraw the interest that has accrued on your CD, you may face penalties if you withdraw the principal amount of the CD (the principal is the amount of money that you initially invested). It is also a good idea to ask about any hidden fees that may be associated with a CD before investing.

We hope to help you find the best rates on CDs. If you have any questions or comments about any of our articles about CD’s , please feel free to click the comment link below the article.