Current C.D. Rates

Indymac Bank currently has a a special internet promotional CD with a 5.45% APY and 4 month maturity term. Minimum amount required to open this certificate of deposit is $5,000. This promotional rate applies only to the initial CD term. Interest is compounded daily and paid or reinvested into the account monthly or at maturity. This rate is only available online.

Bank of America is currently running a certificate of deposit promotion called the “high yield CD” with a short 4 month term and a 5.10% APY rate. This CD must be opened online, and has a $5,000 minimum. Bank of America also offers a “risk free CD” which has a 4.85 APY and allows you to withdraw money prior to the maturity date.

These aren’t necessarily the best CD rates available, but they are still pretty high for a traditional brick and mortar bank. If you already do your banking with Bank of America, it might make sense to open a CD with them for convenience.

ING Direct just launched a new CD promotion called The Added Value CD with a yield of 5.25% APY for a 9 and 12 month CD term. The regular Orange CD yield for these terms is 5.15% APY. The Added Value CD requires the funds to be new money, and the minimum deposit is only $1.

While this isn’t necessarily the highest rate available, for those who already have ING Direct savings or checking accounts, this can be beneficial. Everything can be done online from your account to open and close a CD. So for some, the simplicity can make it worthwhile.

ING Direct also offers a high yield savings account with a 4.5% APY. ING Direct is FDIC insured.

Bank of Internet USA is offering a yield of 5.47% APY on a certificate of deposit for terms from 24 to 29 months and from 36 to 47 months. An APY of 5.42% is available on terms from 18 to 23 months. The minimum deposit is $1,000, the maximum deposit is $100K.

Applications can be done online. However, there seems to be no ACH transfer option for funding. The application only has a check or wire option for funding. You can designate payable-on-death ownership with multiple beneficiaries in the application.

BofI is one of the oldest online-only banks. In addition to it’s CDs, it also has some nice checking accounts, especially for Seniors, with a rate of 3.75%. There are no minimum balance requirements or monthly fees. It offers free checks and ATM reimbursements of up to $8/month.

Bank of Internet USA is FDIC insured.

Washington Mutual is currently offering a 5.45% APY 10-month certificate of deposit. The minimum deposit is $1,000. It has an add-on feature that allows you to make additional deposits up to the amount of the initial deposit. The additional deposits must be at least $100. New money is required to open this account, and it requires that you have a WaMu checking account. This special is not listed at the bank’s website, but instead is being advertised in local newspapers. It is available in New Jersey, New York, Connecticut and California.

WaMu also has a pretty good deal on its online CDs. They’re offering 5.35% APY on all terms from 6 to 60 months.

If you need to open a WaMu checking account, make sure you get their Free Checking account. And if you’re going to open this Free Checking, you may want to consider also opening their 5% Savings Account. If you sign up for both online, you get the 5% APY on the savings account and the monthly fee waiver.

Washington Mutual is FDIC insured.

New Frontier Bank has some high rates on its certificates of deposit. The best is an 18-month CD with a yield of 5.70% APY. The 12-month CD has a yield of 5.60% APY. The minimum deposit is $1,000. These also have an Add-On feature that allows additional deposits of at least $1K to be made during the term. The maximum that can be added is $100K per term. The 12-month CD also has a step-up feature with a minimum deposit of $25K. This gives you the option to bump up the rate to the current rate being offered up to two times during the term.

Only in-state funds are accepted. Branches are located in the Colorado cities of Greeley, Windsor and Longmont which are located north of Denver. The bank has been FDIC insured since 1998.

Element Financial is a new online division of Irwin Union Bank, FSB that offers CDs which have currently have some fairly high rates. Some of their current CD rates include 5.35% APY for a 3-month term, 5.44% APY for a 6-month term, 5.42% APY for a 12-month term and 5.41% APY for a 5-year term. The minimum deposit is $5,000. Larger deposits yield higher rates.

Here’s some of the information for their certificate of deposits:

• CDs are funded with an electronic ACH transfer from another account
• Withdrawals of CD funds are transfered via ACH back into the initial funding account
• 10 calendar grace period at CD maturity in which you can withdraw funds without a penalty
• Instructions about closing a CD at maturity can be sent by their secure contact-us message service or by written request by mail
• Early withdrawal penalties are 91 days of interest for terms under 12 months and 182 days of interest for terms of 12 months and longer. Penalty may reduce principal if withdrawal is done before these times.
• A pre-renewal notice is sent about 12 days prior to the CD maturity date
• Statements are not issued. Balances can be checked online or by phone.
• Interest accrues daily, compounds monthly and is paid monthly
• Interest begins to accrue on the business day the CD is opened

Element Financial is a division of Irwin Union Bank, FSB which is FDIC insured. Bankrate.com’s review gives the bank a 4/5 star rating.

New Dominion Bank is offering variable rate CDs with an interest rate tied to the Wall Street Journal prime rate. The bank will adjust the rate on the CDs as the prime rate increases or decreases. Current rates are 1-year (5.50% APY), 18-month (5.55% APY), 2-year (5.60% APY), and 2.5-year (5.60% APY).