Archives for November 2008

Imperial Capital Bank (ICB) has some of the best CD rates available today. ICB has been around since 1974 and is a publicly traded bank on the New York Stock Exchange (ticker IMP). ICP has branch locations in San Francisco, Encino, Glendale, Beverly Hills, Costa Mesa, and San Diego, California, Carson City, Nevada, and Baltimore, Maryland.

The minimum opening balance on certificate of deposit accounts is $2,000. ICB’s iCD Accounts can be opened online or by mail.

ICB current certificate of deposit rates

Imperial Capital Bank certificate of deposit Application

Virtual Bank is offering one of the best CD rates for a 1 month CD, currently the annual percentage rate is 2.40% and the annual percentage yield is 2.43% for their 1 month eCD. There is a minimum deposit of $10,000 to open a certificate of deposit account with Virtual Bank. All transactions between you and Virtual Bank are done electronically. You account is FDIC insured.

An online CD application can be completed with a minimum amount of information, all you need is a driver’s licence, the name of your current bank for personal checking, account number and routing number. Before the CD account can be opened two small transactions will be deposited by Virtual Bank into your existing bank account, this process verifies the banking information to provide to Virtual Bank. Once your account has been verified you will be able to transfer funds from your bank account into the Virtual Bank CD account.

Virtual Bank Certificate of Deposit Account Application

Discover Bank is offering one of the highest CD rates for a 5 year certificate of deposit, the Certificate of Deposit currently has 5.08 annual percentage rate and a 5.21% annual percentage yield. You can earn the same high yield on a 7 year certificate of deposit and a 10 year certificate of deposit. The minimum opening deposit for a CD account is $2,500.

The interest you earn the account can remain in the certificate of deposit or be transferred to a Discover Bank Money Market Account or to another bank account.

Discover Bank will notify you 3 weeks before the certificate of deposit matures with renewal options. If you do not respond the CD will automatically be renew for the same term at the prevailing interest rate.  There is a 9 calendar–day grace period after your CDs maturity date, during which you can make changes to your account, such as adding or withdrawing funds or opting not to renew, without paying an early withdrawal penalty.

As with all certificate of deposit accounts there are early withdrawal penalties. The penalty for a 5 year CD is 6 months of simple interest on the amount withdrawn. For a 7 year certificate of deposit and a 10 year certificate of deposit the amount is 9 months simple interest on the amount withdrawn.

Discover Bank Certificate of Deposit Appication

Capital One Bank is offering a high yield online savings account with a annual percentage yield (APY) of 3.40% on balances of $10,000 and up. Balances under $10,000 receive a APY of 2.40%. The minimum opening deposit on the online savings account is $1.00.

There are no monthly fees on the account and you can transfer funds for free. As with any savings account you are limited to six withdrawals per month.

Capital One has two subsidiary banks so the FDIC seems them as two separate institutions, any funds held in Capital One Bank (USA), N.A., are insured separately from funds in Capital One, N.A., and vice versa. As a result you can double up on the maximum FDIC coverage.

For example: Individual and joint accounts are insured separately. This means that if you have both an individual and joint account in each of Capital One Bank’s institutions, your total deposits can be insured up to $1.5 million (up to $250,000 in each of the individual accounts, and up to an additional $250,000 per depositor in each of the joint accounts). The basic deposit insurance limit is currently scheduled to return to $100,000 on Dec. 31, 2009.

You will need the following information to open the OSA.

• Social Security number
• Driver’s license or state-issued identification
• E-mail address
• Your bank or brokerage account information
• Home address
• Birth date

Capital One Bank Online Savings Account Application

The 5.00% CD rate is back! Dime Direct is offering a promotional 6 month CD that yields 5.00%.  To qualify for this promo CD rate you will need to open a Prime Dime Checking Account. The offer is only available in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.

The minimum opening deposit for the CD account is $500 and the maximum deposit is $100,000. Funds deposited in the account must be “new money” and can not be transferred from an existing Dime Account. Dime Direct is part of Dime Savings Bank of Williamsburgh ( Brooklyn ) New York which was establish in 1864.

The Prime Dime Checking Account can be opened with a minimum deposit of $1.00. There is a $15.00 monthly fee if your checking account balance falls below $5,000. To qualify for the CD rate you must also do the following transactions in the checking account.  Have a monthly recurring direct deposit of a payroll check, pension check or government benefit or use the online bill payment service at least once per month.

Dime Direct Bank 6 Month CD Rate Application

Nationwide Bank is offering a high yield Money Market Account that currently has an annual percentage Yield (APY) of 3.27%.

Nationwide Bank is the banking arm of Nationwide Insurance.

The minimum opening balance for the money market account is $1,000.

The 3.27% yield applies to all balances in the MMA.

There isn’t a monthly fee if you maintain an average daily balance of $1,000.

If your account fails below the $1,000 minimum the monthly fee is $8.00

Money Market Account (MMA) Benefits:

• Your first order of checks is Free 
• Free online banking (you are automatically enrolled when you open an account)
• You can request a free ATM card.
• Access to more than 37,000 Allpoint surcharge-free ATMs and 400,000 Visa^®/PLUS ATMs across the country
• Two free non-Nationwide Bank ATM transactions per month, charge of $1.50 per transactions after.
• Free money transfer between your Nationwide Bank accounts and from your accounts with other banks
• Complete transactions online, over the phone, at an ATM, by mail
• May be linked to a checking account for overdraft protection. There is a $5.00 per day fee for a transfer from a MMA or savings account. So if your account is overdrawn twice in one day you are only charged $5.00.

Nationwide Bank Money Market Account (MMA) Applicaiton

Liberty Bank of Illinois is offering an online checking account that pays a 4.50% annual percentage yield (APY) on balances up to $25,000 and an 1.50% APY on balances over $25,000. Their are some monthly qualifications that have to be meet to earn this high yield on a checking account. The opening balance on the account is only one dollar.

Online Checking Account Qualifications:

• Minimum of 15 debit card purchases (ATM usage does not count toward the 15 transactions)
• Minimum of 1 direct deposit or automatic withdrawal
• Minimum of 1 bill pay is required monthly (bill pay is free)
• Receive your monthly account statement electronically

If you do not meet the monthly checking account qualifications the APY on the account will only be .50 percent and you will not be reimbursed for the ATM fees.

Online Checking Account Benefits:

• Free introductory package of 50 checks on new accounts
• No maintenance fees
• Reimburse up to $20.00 in ATM fees
• Free online bill pay
• Overdraft protection available

 Liberty Bank Online Checking Account Application

Online identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in the United States, and has ranked as one of the top consumer concerns for the past several years. There are several ways thieves can steal your personal information online, using spyware or malware, phishing or hacking into your computer or a corporate computer that holds your personal financial information or credit card numbers.

There are several steps you can take to protect yourself from identity theft.

1. Make sure you have anti-virus software installed on your computer and the software is up to date. This will help prevent your information from being stolen through spyware or malware that hight have been installed on your pc without your knowledge.

2. Be very careful about downloading free software, movies or music. Sometimes spyware or malware is hidden in these files and can be installed without your knowledge.  

3. If you receive an “urgent” e-mail which appears to originate from a financial institution, government agency, or other well-known/reputable entity asking you to update your account information DO NOT click on any links in the email. The email might be a phishing scam and the link provided in the email isn’t to the actual reputable financial institution’s website but to a fraudster’s website. Once you are on the fake website you might be asked to provide your account numbers, passwords, social security number or any other personal information. When you provide the information the person committing the fraud can begin to access your accounts and assume your identity to apply for more credit.

If you suspect you are about to be a victim of fraud the first thing to do is put an initial fraud alert on your credit file, this alert will stay in place for 90 days and it will require creditors to verify your identity before issuing credit in your name.

If you have already been a victim of fraud fill out an Identity Complaint Form with the FTC and put an extended fraud alert on your credit file which requires all creditors to actually speak with you before issuing credit. The extended fraud alert stays on your file for 7 years.

Learn more about phishing scams by playing this informative game. 

Brokerage certificate of deposits differ from traditional Bank CDs because they are offered by a broker (a middleman) not directly from a bank. Brokers can include investment banks and financial institutions like Charles Schwab or Fidelity. 

CD brokers usually purchase CDs in large denominations and resell them to customers in smaller amounts. Just like traditional certificate of deposits purchased from banks, brokerage certificate of deposits are FDIC insured for up to $250,000 for individual accounts and $500,000 for joint accounts.

The difference between traditional bank CDs and brokerage CDs is the brokerage CDs are tradable like stocks or bonds. Why would one want to trade a CD? To access their funds without paying an early withdrawal penalty like you would with bank CDs.  

A brokerage CD will return an investor’s principal at maturity, its value if sold prior to maturity will fluctuate based on size, time remaining before maturity and the level of interest rates. If you sell before maturity your broker will request bids and contact you with the highest bid for you CD. You will also receive any accrued interest up to the sale date.

Another benefit is a brokerage CD can be transferred from one brokerage firm to another, which allows the owner to consolidate assets at one firm.

Bloomberg recently reported CD rates are going up.

GMAC Bank is offering one of the highest 12 month CD rates out there,  the annual percentage rate is currently 4.27% and the annual percentage yield is 4.36%. There is a $500 minimum to open the CD account. You can open a CD online here or by calling GMAC Bank Customer Care at 1-866-246-BANK (1-866-246-2265).

Requirements to open a CD account

• Legal U.S. resident
• Have a U.S Address
• Driver’s License
• Social Security Number

GMAC Penalty for Early Withdrawal of a Certificate of Deposit

The penalty is equal to 90 days of interest that has been or would be earned on a certificate with a term of less than or equal to one year. For certificate of deposits over 1 year the penalty is equal to 180 days of interest that has been or would be earned on a certificate with a term of more than one year.

GMAC Bank Online CD Application

E-Loan is offering one of the best CD rates for a 1 year CD. The current annual percentage yield for the 1 year certificate of deposit is 4.36%. Plus if you sign up with promotional code “times25″ before December 18th you will receive a $25 bonus.

The bonus is posted into the account within 90 days of opening the account and you must keep the account until the certificate of deposit matures.

The minimum opening deposit is $10,000 and the promo is valid for one new 1 year CD account for each new customer.

E-Loan 1 Year Promotional CD Application

Update: The APY has been lowered to 3.50%

Dollar Savings Direct is offering a high yield savings account(HYCA) that currently yields 4.00% APY. The minimum balance you have to maintain to receive this HYSA rate is $1000. The account can be opened online at HYSA application.  Dollar Savings Direct is an online banking division of Emigrant Bank of New York. Emigrant Bank has been around since the 1920’s. As of December 31, 2007, Emigrant Bank and its affiliated Regional Banks have approximately $14.3 billion in assets and more than $1 billion in net worth, operating through 35 branches in the New York metropolitan area.

Requirements to open a savings account

• Be at least 18 years old
• Have a social security number
• A legal US address 
• A personal checking account in a US bank

If you need help opening an account call customer service at 1-866-395-8693

Dollar Savings Direct Online Savings Account Application

If you have been reported to ChexSystems, look for banks that do not use
ChexSystems to open new accounts.

ING Direct is offering some of the best certificate of deposit (CD) rates for their “Orange CD”. The 9 month CD yield of 3.75% and the 1 year CD yield of 4.25% are especially competitive. The Orange CD is only for personal accounts and can not be used for business, power of attorney, beneficiary or individual retirement accounts.

Current CD Rates:

Early withdrawal penalty:

The early withdrawal penalty for an Orange CD with a term that is 12 months or less is three (3) months of interest regardless of when, prior to maturity, you make a withdrawal. The early withdrawal penalty for an Orange CD with a term that is longer than 12 months is six (6) months of interest regardless of when, prior to maturity, you make a withdrawal. Depending on how early you redeem an OCD, the resulting penalty may be greater than the interest that has been earned on the deposit.

ING Direct Orange Certificate of Deposit Application

Sovereign Bank is offering a 9 month promotional CD Rate and a 12 month promotional CD rate. The 9 month certificate of deposit currently has a 4.00% annual percentage yield (APY) and the 12 month certificate of deposit currently has a 4.25% APY. The minimum deposit for both CDs is only $500.

You will need the following to open a certificate of deposit account with Sovereign Bank.

• Social Security number
• Current address and prior address(es) if you have lived at your current address for less than two years
• Driver’s license number
• Employment Information
• Email address

 Sovereign Bank CD Rate Application

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation recently raised insurance limits on all deposit accounts to help calm the credit and financial markets. The new limits are only temporary but the limits have been raised from $100,000 to $250,000 for individual accounts. Deposit accounts include checking accounts, savings accounts, money market deposit accounts and certificates of deposit (CDs). 

You can open multiple accounts to raise your overall limit. We have two examples on raising the insured limit on deposit accounts. 

Maximizing Your FDIC Insurance Coverage

A husband and wife can have deposit ac­counts totaling $1,500,000 insured by the FDIC, with the following account ownership strategy.

Example 1: Husband and Wife 

A husband and wife with a child can have de­posit accounts totaling $2,000,000 insured by the FDIC, with the following account owner­ship strategy.

Example 2: Husband and Wife with Child

In additon to using the multiple deposit account stragey you can also use the Certificate of Deposit Account Registry Service to insure your deposits up to $50 million. We recently wrote on artilce on the service, read more CDARS

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has temporary raised the limits on all deposit accounts, including checking and savings accounts, money market deposit accounts and certificates of deposit (CDs). 

The new temporary limits are:

On January 1, 2014, the standard coverage limit will return to $100,000 for all deposit categories except IRAs and Certain Retirement Accounts, which will continue to be insured up to $250,000 per owner.

Venture Bank Direct of Lacey Washington is offering one of the best online savings account rates. The savings account currently has an an annual percentage rate (APR) of 3.73% and an annual percentage yield (APY) of 3.80%.

Venture Bank Direct’s “Wise Choice Savings” also has the following benefits

• No minimum balance requirement
• FDIC insured
• Fund Online - Bank Online
• Link up to 3 external accounts
• No fees for transfers into the account and the first 3 withdrawals are free, each withdrawal over 3 incurs a $1.00 fee
• As with all savings accounts, this account has regulatory limits of 6 withdrawals per month
• Interest is compounded monthly and paid monthly based on daily collected balances

Requirements:

• At least 18 years old
• Have a valid social security number
• A legal U.S. address
• A valid driver’s license number, state issued ID number or military issued ID 
• A personal bank account in a U.S. bank

The account is opened online. If you have any questions during the process you can call Customer Support at (877) 577-5785, Monday - Friday, 6:00 a.m - 5:00 p.m. (PST).

Venture Bank Direct Online Savings Account Application

One of our readers, Bruce H., alerted us to this great rate. If you find a really good rate or deal share it with us so we can all benefit.

Contact MonitorBankRates.com

Costco through Capital One Bank is offering an 18 months CD that currently has an annual percentage yield of 4.46% for both non-jumbo CDs and jumbo CDs. This promotional offer is one of the highest CD rates available for an 18 months CD and is only available to Costco members. The minimum deposit is $5,000.

There is an additional promo offer if you have not yet opened an account. Costco Executive Members will receive $60 and Gold Star and Business Members will receive $20 when they open their first account of any kind through the Costco program and deposit at least $5,000 within 30 days of opening the account. The bonus is credited to the new account balance and is reported as interest income.

A CD account can be opened online by using the link below or by calling 1-866-850-3919.

Captial One/Costco 18 Month CD Applicaiton

CNB Bank Direct, a division of Citizens National Bank of Ohio, is offering a promotional high yield savings account that currently has a 4.00% APY. The online savings account is opened online at http://cnbbankdirect.com/. You will need to link a checking account or savings account to transfer funds in and out of the account. The linked account does not have to be a CNB or CNB direct account, you can link any bank account to the CNB online savings account.

Account Benefits:

• Earn interest on all balances of $1.00 or more
• $1.00 minimum opening balance
• FDIC Insured
• No monthly service fees
• No need to switch banks
• Make up to 6 withdrawals per month and unlimited deposits per month

Steps to opening the account

1. Apply online at http://cnbbankdirect.com/
2. You will receive an email confirmation the same business day you apply
3. The email confirmation will contain an access ID and instructions to verify the account.

To verify your deposits you will need to view your linked checking or savings account’s transaction history or call your bank for the deposit amounts. Once you obtain the 2 deposit amounts, log in to Online Banking using your Access ID and password. On the Summary Page you will be asked to verify your account. Click on the verify link. Following the instructions confirming the 2 deposits. After you correctly verify the deposits you will have access to transfer your money.

National City Bank has a special promotional offer for opening a personal checking account. NCB will give you a $150 Visa gift card when you open a new personal checking account and deposit $50 in the account.

This promo offer is available from November 1st until December 31st 2008. The checking account can be opened online, at a local NCB branch or by calling 1-800-622-6650.

The offer is limited to one per household and available only to households without an existing personal checking account at NCB and have not closed a NCB checking account within the past 60 days.

To qualify for this offer:

• A Visa Check Card must be issued to you
• An ACH direct deposit of your payroll, pension or Social Security benefit of at least $250 must be received
• ACH direct deposit must be established by using the National City Switch Service available by calling 1-800-622-3948 or visiting any National City branch
• At least 10 purchases be made with your Check Card posted to your checking account within 60 days of account opening.

 Your checking account must remain open in order for you to receive the $150 gift card which will be mailed to you within 60 days after all conditions above have been met.

NCB has five different checking accounts that qualify for this offer. All have different interest rates and fees associated with the accounts.

NCB $150 Checking Account Gift Card Offer

E-loan has one of the best CD rates for a 5 year CD, the rate is 5.02% and the annual percentage yield is 5.15%. The minimum balance to open the CD account is $10,000. The yield on balances over $100,000 is 5.25%.  The FDIC now insures individual deposits up to $250,000.   

When you open a E-LOAN account you are actually opening an account through Banco Popular North America (BPNA), a New York state chartered bank insured by the FDIC that is the direct parent company of E-LOAN. Banco Popular has more then $47 billion in assets, been around since 1893 and has operations in Puerto Rico, the United States, the Caribbean, and Latin America.

E loan 5 year CD Application

We often receive questions about investing terms and phrases so we decided to post definitions of some of the terms we use on monitorbankrates.com

What is principal?

Principal is the amount of money originally invested in an account. It includes any interest earned which has been posted to the account. Principal is the money that earns interest.

What is an Annual Percentage Rate (APR)?

The APR is the annual rate of interest without taking into account the compounding of interest.

What is an Annual Percentage Yield (APY)?

The APY is the annualized rate of return on your investment including compounding interest.

What is a Certificate of Deposit (CD)?

A certificate of deposit is a promissory note issued by a bank. It is a time deposit that restricts holders from withdrawing funds on demand. 

What is a Jumbo Certificate of Deposit (CD)?

A Jumbo certificate of deposit usually has a minimum principal deposit of $100,000. This site has come of the best jumbo cd rates.

What is an Early Withdrawal Penalty?

Since certificate of deposits are timed deposits withdrawing monies early will incur a penalty, forfeiting some or all of the interest earned. 

What is a Certificate of Deposit term?

The term of a certificate of deposit (CD) is the length of time your money has to be deposited to accrue the interest promised by the bank.

What is Compounding Interest?

Compounding refers to earning interest on previous interest earned, this is why the annual percentage yield (APY) is higher then the annual percentage rate (APR). 

Another good source for information on investing terms is Investopedia.com