CD RATES STEADY AS FED CONFIRMS END TO MONTHLY BOND BUYING CAMPAIGN
TheStreet and RateWatch Report Top National & Regional CD Rate Issuers
NEW YORK - RateWatch, a premier banking data and analytics service owned by TheStreet, Inc. (NASDAQ: TST), reported today that national averages for CD rates of all durations this week remained unchanged as the Federal Reserve continued to keep the short-term federal funds rate at a range of zero to 0.25% since late 2008.
"National CD rates were unchanged after the Federal Reserve confirmed it would end its monthly bond buying campaign after October, and the central bank announced that Charles Plosser, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, and Richard Fisher, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas would step down by April," TheStreet's Antoine Gara reported.
"Plosser and Fisher were two dissenters at the Fed's September meeting, given their belief it should move quicker to end stimulus to the U.S. economy. Chairwoman's Janet Yellen's cautious outlook on the labor market, however, indicates that short term interest will remain low for an extended period of time even after the Fed ends its monthly bond purchases," added Gara.
NATIONAL AVERAGE RESULTS - $10K
Avg Rate This week | Avg Rate Last week | |
---|---|---|
Money Market | 0.15% | 0.15% |
1 month CD | 0.11% | 0.11% |
3 month CD | 0.15% | 0.15% |
6 month CD | 0.23% | 0.23% |
1 year CD | 0.36% | 0.36% |
2 year CD | 0.56% | 0.56% |
3 year CD | 0.76% | 0.76% |
4 year CD | 0.94% | 0.94% |
5 year CD | 1.16% | 1.16% |
In the Greater Seattle Region area, the average 5-year CD rate sat at 0.8%, lower than the national average of 1.16%. Rates on the 5-year CD ranged from 0.15% on the low end to 1.75% at the high end, which can be found at Umpqua Bank. The average 3-year CD rate in Greater Seattle Region was 0.55% with a range of 0.05% to 1.0% found at Armed Forces Bank, National Association. And if you are on the market for a 1-year CD, take a look at Armed Forces Bank, National Association, which currently offers a rate of 0.6% as compared to the Greater Seattle Region average of 0.23%. Other top rate issuers can be found in the tables that follow.
GREATER SEATTLE REGION AVERAGE RESULTS - $10K
Avg Rate This week | Highest Available Rate | Highest Available Rate Issuer | |
---|---|---|---|
Money Market | 0.09% | 0.45% | HomeStreet Bank |
1 month CD | 0.06% | 0.15% | Armed Forces Bank, National Association |
3 month CD | 0.08% | 0.2% | Armed Forces Bank, National Association |
6 month CD | 0.13% | 0.35% | Opus Bank |
1 year CD | 0.23% | 0.6% | Armed Forces Bank, National Association |
2 year CD | 0.38% | 0.9% | Armed Forces Bank, National Association |
3 year CD | 0.55% | 1.0% | Armed Forces Bank, National Association |
4 year CD | 0.63% | 1.4% | Umpqua Bank |
5 year CD | 0.8% | 1.75% | Umpqua Bank |
TOP RATE ISSUERS - $10K
This is a list of issuers with top interest rates in the Greater Seattle Region area. The issuer's Financial Strength Rating is an independent, unbiased evaluation of quarterly regulatory statements. Institutions are assigned a letter grade of A-E with "A" representing the highest rating based on a review of many aspects of financial safety including capitalization, asset quality, profitability and liquidity. For more information, visit www.weissratings.com/help/what-our-ratings-mean.aspx. Information is believed to be accurate, but not guaranteed.
Money Market | Financial Strength Rating | Minimum to Earn Interest ($) | APY(%) |
---|---|---|---|
HomeStreet Bank 206-623-3050 www.homestreet.com | D+ | 10000 | 0.45 |
HomeStreet Bank, DBA Fortune Bank 206-621-0100 www.homestreet.com | D+ | 10000 | 0.45 |
Washington Federal, National Association 206-624-7930 www.washingtonfederal.com | B | 1000 | 0.15 |
Opus Bank 425-257-1745 www.opusbank.com | B | 1 | 0.1 |
US Bank National Association 206-344-3690 www.usbank.com | C | 10000 | 0.1 |
1 Month CD | Financial Strength Rating | Minimum to Earn Interest ($) | APY(%) |
HomeStreet Bank 206-623-3050 www.homestreet.com | D+ | 10000 | 0.15 |
HomeStreet Bank, DBA Fortune Bank 206-621-0100 www.homestreet.com | D+ | 10000 | 0.15 |
Armed Forces Bank, National Association 253-964-9266 www.afbank.com | B- | 500 | 0.15 |
Opus Bank 425-257-1745 www.opusbank.com | B | 10000 | 0.1 |
Banner Bank 206-709-8314 www.bannerbank.com | A- | 2500 | 0.1 |
3 Month CD | Financial Strength Rating | Minimum to Earn Interest ($) | APY(%) |
Armed Forces Bank, National Association 253-964-9266 www.afbank.com | B- | 500 | 0.2 |
HomeStreet Bank 206-623-3050 www.homestreet.com | D+ | 10000 | 0.15 |
HomeStreet Bank, DBA Fortune Bank 206-621-0100 www.homestreet.com | D+ | 10000 | 0.15 |
Opus Bank 425-257-1745 www.opusbank.com | B | 10000 | 0.15 |
Washington Federal, National Association 206-624-7930 www.washingtonfederal.com | B | 1000 | 0.15 |
6 Month CD | Financial Strength Rating | Minimum to Earn Interest ($) | APY(%) |
Opus Bank 425-257-1745 www.opusbank.com | B | 10000 | 0.35 |
Armed Forces Bank, National Association 253-964-9266 www.afbank.com | B- | 500 | 0.25 |
Washington Federal, National Association 206-624-7930 www.washingtonfederal.com | B | 1000 | 0.25 |
AmericanWest Bank 206-784-2200 www.vikingbank.com | B- | 1000 | 0.2 |
HomeStreet Bank 206-623-3050 www.homestreet.com | D+ | 10000 | 0.15 |
1 Year CD | Financial Strength Rating | Minimum to Earn Interest ($) | APY(%) |
Opus Bank 425-257-1745 www.opusbank.com | B | 10000 | 0.6 |
Armed Forces Bank, National Association 253-964-9266 www.afbank.com | B- | 500 | 0.6 |
Washington Federal, National Association 206-624-7930 www.washingtonfederal.com | B | 1000 | 0.35 |
AmericanWest Bank 206-784-2200 www.vikingbank.com | B- | 1000 | 0.3 |
Whidbey Island Bank 425-745-5933 www.wibank.com | B | 500 | 0.23 |
2 Year CD | Financial Strength Rating | Minimum to Earn Interest ($) | APY(%) |
Armed Forces Bank, National Association 253-964-9266 www.afbank.com | B- | 500 | 0.9 |
Umpqua Bank 425-732-6016 www.umpquabank.com | B- | 10000 | 0.85 |
Opus Bank 425-257-1745 www.opusbank.com | B | 10000 | 0.75 |
Washington Federal, National Association 206-624-7930 www.washingtonfederal.com | B | 1000 | 0.7 |
AmericanWest Bank 206-784-2200 www.vikingbank.com | B- | 1000 | 0.5 |
3 Year CD | Financial Strength Rating | Minimum to Earn Interest ($) | APY(%) |
Armed Forces Bank, National Association 253-964-9266 www.afbank.com | B- | 500 | 1.0 |
Umpqua Bank 425-732-6016 www.umpquabank.com | B- | 10000 | 1.0 |
Opus Bank 425-257-1745 www.opusbank.com | B | 10000 | 1.0 |
Washington Federal, National Association 206-624-7930 www.washingtonfederal.com | B | 1000 | 1.0 |
AmericanWest Bank 206-784-2200 www.vikingbank.com | B- | 1000 | 1.0 |
4 Year CD | Financial Strength Rating | Minimum to Earn Interest ($) | APY(%) |
Umpqua Bank 425-732-6016 www.umpquabank.com | B- | 10000 | 1.4 |
Washington Federal, National Association 206-624-7930 www.washingtonfederal.com | B | 1000 | 1.35 |
Opus Bank 425-257-1745 www.opusbank.com | B | 10000 | 1.2 |
Armed Forces Bank, National Association 253-964-9266 www.afbank.com | B- | 500 | 1.1 |
AmericanWest Bank 206-784-2200 www.vikingbank.com | B- | 1000 | 1.05 |
5 Year CD | Financial Strength Rating | Minimum to Earn Interest ($) | APY(%) |
Umpqua Bank 425-732-6016 www.umpquabank.com | B- | 10000 | 1.75 |
Washington Federal, National Association 206-624-7930 www.washingtonfederal.com | B | 1000 | 1.5 |
Armed Forces Bank, National Association 253-964-9266 www.afbank.com | B- | 500 | 1.3 |
Opus Bank 425-257-1745 www.opusbank.com | B | 10000 | 1.25 |
AmericanWest Bank 206-784-2200 www.vikingbank.com | B- | 1000 | 1.2 |
Data is surveyed weekly with averages calculated each Monday afternoon from RateWatch's unbiased national interest rate survey of over 96,000 financial institution locations across the United States.
More About CDs:
CDs, or certificate of deposits, are bank-issued promissory notes wherein an investor deposits money for a set amount of time and, provided the money remains untouched, receives interest on the total sum when the investment matures.
While the money can't be accessed during that time (without incurring penalties), the advantage of a CD over a regular savings deposit is the higher rate of interest. Typically, a CD can be taken out on as few as three-month terms but can range to up to five years; generally, the longer the timeframe the higher rate of interest.
CD Laddering:
To provide further financial security, a CD laddering strategy offers conservative investors the opportunity to stagger their capital across numerous deposits set to expire at different intervals. Not only does this hedge against variable rate fluctuations by offering a guaranteed return at a locked-in interest rate, it also increases liquidity given that one CD will mature at predictable and established intervals.
Using an example of a five-year ladder strategy, an investor would divide his or her money amongst one-, two-, three-, four-, and five-year CDs. Once the one-year deposit matures, he or she will reinvest the money into a five-year CD, and will do so every subsequent year upon each CD's maturation. In this way, the investor has a CD that matures each year and thus, steady income from the interest on the maturing investments.
Nevertheless, investors must keep in mind that the onus of developing a ladder strategy is on the investor, not the bank or financial institution. In developing a strategy, map out each rung of the ladder, determining how long you want to invest for, the kind of return you are targeting and the length of time you can tolerate not having access to the principal and interest.
About RateWatch
For over 20 years, RateWatch has been the premier provider of competitive interest rate and product information to financial institutions across the United States. Consistently providing top quality, highly relevant data RateWatch maintains the largest database in the industry with deposit, loan, and fee information monitoring over 96,000 locations. Rate surveys, product comparisons, financial strength reporting, local/regional/national averages, fee reporting, specialty reports and more are available. To learn more about RateWatch, visit www.rate-watch.com. RateWatch is a division of TheStreet, Inc.