Highest CD Rates, Where Are They. To find the highest CD rates you first ... 6 Month CD Rates, Where Are The Best Rates. *1 Year CD Rates (One Year CD ... Best CD Rates, Where To Find Them *High Rate CD... http://www.highestratescd.com 2012-02-22T16:14:20+01:00 text/html 2011-12-22T03:18:19+01:00 http://www.highestratescd.com http://www.highestratescd.com/general/a-tough-climate-for-indie-banks.html Independent community banks have been around Illinois for decades, lending money to shopkeepers, factories and home buyers. But the independent pharmacies and department stores that once populated small-town Main Streets largely are gone, and some in the industry wonder whether community banks might be endangered, too. Gregg Nelson, 67, has been State Bank of Geneva’s president since 1985, when he competed against three other local institutions in the far western suburb. Now he faces off against 16 banks, most of which can undercut State Bank’s prices on mortgages and certificates of deposit. State Bank, which has assets of almost $100 million, has weathered the recent financial crisis. It avoided reliance on lending to developers and builders before the recession and as a result has leverage ratios well above those required by regulators. Still, Mr. Nelson has had to invest heavily in recent years on legal help and computer systems to keep up with the changing regulatory landscape. “I don’t want to ever sell out,” says Mr. Nelson, whose father and grandfather were bankers. “But it’s getting harder and harder to make a dollar now. Our margins have gotten pretty skimpy. I really feel the competition.” Mr. Nelson says he would consider acquiring another community bank and foresees a potential advantage in getting bigger. At the bank’s current size, he’s limited to making loans of $2.4 million or less—too small for the needs of many local businesses. “If we doubled in size, we could make bigger loans and be more competitive,” he says. REGULATORY HURDLES Another community bank that has avoided the real estate calamity is Peoples’ Bank of Arlington Heights, which has assets of $120 million. Chairman and CEO Frank Appleby founded the bank in 1999 with money raised from 170 local investors. He says that he has to pay outside accountants and consultants more than... text/html 2011-12-22T03:18:19+01:00 http://www.highestratescd.com http://www.highestratescd.com/general/a-tussle-over-payments-to-fraud-victims.html More than two years after R. Allen Stanford was accused of masterminding a $7 billion Ponzi scheme, the Securities and Exchange Commission and an investor protection fund are arguing over whether to reimburse victims of the alleged fraud. In June, the SEC recommended that the Securities Investor Protection Corp. offer some buyers of Stanford's certificates of deposit as much as $500,000 each. The SIPC, a four-decade-old nonprofit corporation funded by brokerages, has helped to collect billions of dollars for victims of Bernard Madoff but has maintained that Stanford investors aren't eligible for restitution. SIPC President Stephen P. Harbeck advised a court-appointed receiver two years ago that Stanford investors wouldn't be eligible for reimbursement because Stanford's Houston brokerage didn't steal the CDs. The money was sent to an affiliated bank, and the now-worthless CDs were delivered to the investors. The SIPC, he says, only protects securities that are stolen or lost in the collapse of a brokerage and not losses from fraud. "It is very difficult to explain the difference between theft and fraud," Harbeck says. "Nobody is saying these people weren't defrauded." The SEC initially agreed with that analysis but changed its mind, several people familiar with the matter say, after two years of pressure from more than 50 lawmakers. On June 15, the SEC told the SIPC to liquidate the Stanford Group brokerage and review thousands of accounts for possible restitution, threatening to sue if the SIPC didn't do so. The SEC argues that the brokerage and the bank are effectively one entity. Because the investors gave cash to the brokerage, that makes the brokerage--a member of the SIPC--responsible, no matter who actually maintained possession of the CDs. The question won't be settled until September, when the SIPC board is set to meet. Some 20,000 investors bought into Stanford's alleged scheme over... text/html 2011-12-22T03:18:19+01:00 http://www.highestratescd.com http://www.highestratescd.com/general/banks-ramp-up-alternative-cds.html As the economy begins to pick up and as the Federal Reserve hints at a possible interest rate rise, investors are following their historical pattern and losing interest in classic certificates of deposit. Similarly, banks are responding by offering a growing number of alternative rising-rate CD products to keep investors interested. Bankrate.com, in a 2011 rising-rate survey, found a surprising range of opening interest rates among all three categories: liquid CDs, step-up CDs and bump-up CDs. "The terms in all three categories vary widely, as do the interest rates," said Greg McBride, a senior financial analyst at Bankrate.com. "That means that the customer has to really shop around for the best deal." The results were released Monday. He said people should also compare the whole class of alternative CDs with a higher-yielding savings account or with traditional CDs, because rising-rate products generally offer their provisions at a cost in terms of interest. McBride says there is no real correlation between how high interest rates are and how restrictive a product's terms are, making shopping all the more important. For example, consider the case of liquid CDs, which allow the holder to withdraw money before term without penalty. Offerings range from the extremely restrictive, such as Colonial Savings of Dallas' 36-month CD, which pays 1.67%, but allows only one penalty-free withdrawal of up to 50%, to relatively liberal Suncoast Federal Credit Union, which pays 1.3% on its 36-month CD, but allows withdrawals or a closeout, penalty free. Meanwhile BB&T Bank in Washington, which offers a liquid 36-month CD that permits up to four penalty-free withdrawals a year, pays only 0.75% interest, and withdrawals must be for tuition or to buy a home. Similarly, the 24-month bump-up CD products show interest running from Sovereign Bank's 0.15% starting rate to Ent Federal Credit Union's 1.36% rate, yet both offer... text/html 2011-12-22T03:18:19+01:00 http://www.highestratescd.com http://www.highestratescd.com/general/bochk-to-invest-cd-proceeds-into-china-bond-market.html The Hong Kong division of Bank of China has obtained approval to invest proceeds from renminbi-denominated certificates of deposit into China's onshore bond markets. The move offers it investment diversity and helps develop the mainland's market. Bank of China (Hong Kong), the Hong Kong-based subsidiary of China's top-four bank, has received approval from the People's Bank of China (PBoC) to invest part of its proceeds from offshore renminbi-denominated certificates of deposit into China's interbank bond market. This is part of a pilot scheme for renminbi clearing banks and other eligible institutions outside the mainland to invest in the mainland's interbank bond market, which was originally launched by the central bank in August 2010. Allowing offshore financial institutions to invest in onshore bond markets would broaden the investor base for the nation's interbank bond markets. And the fact these institutions would need central bank approval before transferring funds means that the Chinese government will continue to control the renminbi inflows. "The pilot scheme has been announced for quite some time but very few banks have actually utilised it; Bank of China (Hong Kong) is one of the pioneers," said a source familiar with the situation. Several subsidiaries of Chinese lenders including Bank of China (Hong Kong), China Citic Bank International and Wing Lung Bank, which is owned by China Merchants Bank, have raised offshore renminbi funds by selling certificates of deposit (CDs) in Hong Kong. These banks are eager to expand their renminbi deposit base as they see a potential rise in demand outside the country's borders for loans denominated in the Chinese currency. Bank of China (HK) has for example issued about Rmb8 billion (US$1.24 billion) in CDs over the past few years. Under the pilot scheme renminbi clearing banks in Hong Kong and Macau, participating banks for renminbi cross-border trade settlement, and offshore central banks or... text/html 2011-12-22T03:18:19+01:00 http://www.highestratescd.com http://www.highestratescd.com/general/care-rates-certificate-of-deposits-of-vijaya-bank-at-pr1-plus.html CARE has assigned 'PR1+' [PR One Plus] rating to the Certificate of Deposits programme of Vijaya Bank for an enhanced limit of Rs.15,000 crore (enhanced from Rs.10,000 crore) with a maturity upto one year. Ratings Instrument Rating Enhancement (Rs. Crore) Ratings Remarks Certificate of Deposits 15,000 'PR1+' Assigned Rating Rationale The ratings factor in the majority ownership by the Government of India (GoI) and the demonstrated support from it in the form of recent capital infusion, the improvement in the bank's financial performance as well as the declining regional concentration. The rating is, however, constrained by sluggish business volumes, deteriorating asset quality, high exposure to the Commercial Real Estate (CRE) sector, below-average Current Account & Savings Account (CASA) mix and weak operational parameters. VB's ability to improve its spreads, contain incremental delinquencies and improve its funding profile are the key rating sensitivities. Bank Profile Vijaya Bank is a Bangalore-based mid-sized public sector bank with the Government of India (GoI) shareholding of 53.87%. As on September 30, 2010, the bank had a network of 1,173 branches. The bank has a substantial footprint in Southern India with around 61% of its branches and 37% of the business coming from the region. VB's total income slightly declined to Rs.5,880 crore during FY10 led by sluggish earnings profile. Although the interest income declined due to a delayed pick-up in credit offtake as well as decline in advances yield; the net interest income showed a robust 29% growth to Rs.1,449 crore due to lower interest expenses. Consequently, NIM of VB surged by 28bps to 2.20% during FY10. Improvement in core earnings (NII) has mainly led to 93% y-o-y surge in the bank's profitability to Rs.507 crore. During H1 FY11, VB posted a profit of Rs.318 crore on total income of Rs.3,041 crore. Despite sluggish business volumes, net interest income improved by robust 32% to Rs.932 crore... text/html 2011-12-22T03:18:19+01:00 http://www.highestratescd.com http://www.highestratescd.com/general/deutsche-bank-launches-tradable-cnh-bond-index.html German lender Deutsche Bank has launched the first tradable offshore renminbi bonds index this week. It hopes the product will spur greater secondary market trading in the new asset class. Deutsche Bank launched the first tradable CNH bonds index on Monday (July 18)) in hopes of tracking the performance of CNH or dim sum bonds, and providing liquidity for the fast-growing market. The CNH bonds index is to be tradable among institutional investors. The Deutsche Bank Offshore Renminbi Bond Index Tracker (DB ORBIT), tracks CNH bonds and certificates of deposit (CDs) with a minimum issuance size of Rmb1 billion (US$155 million), with at least 12 months to maturity. It will be calculated in renminbi and rebalanced on a monthly basis. The index is also available in US dollars or Hong Kong dollars which will include the appreciation of the renminbi. CNH bonds or dim sum bonds indices are not new. Hong Kong's renminbi clearing and settlement bank, Bank of China (Hong Kong), inaugurated the first performance benchmark for dim sum bonds in December. HSBC and Citi also jumped on the bandwagon in March and April, respectively. "Improving market access not only raises the profile of CNH bonds amongst investors globally but ultimately strengthens the market's role as a reliable source of renminbi financing by boosting secondary market liquidity," said Vishal Goenka, head of local currency credit trading, Asia at Deutsche Bank. As of July 2011, Deutsche's new index represented a total market capitalisation of Rmb72.33 billion, with an average bond duration of two-and-a-half years and an annualised index return (in US dollars) of 7.38%. The German bank expects the gross issuance of offshore renminbi bonds to exceed Rmb150 billion and total bonds outstanding to amount to Rmb250 billion by the end of this year. Secondary market liquidity in CNH bonds continues to grow rapidly, with monthly volumes rising from... text/html 2011-12-22T03:18:19+01:00 http://www.highestratescd.com http://www.highestratescd.com/general/fly-for-less-with-low-cost-cards.html IF AIRFARE INCREASES ARE keeping your vacation plans from getting off the ground, apply for a travel rewards credit card. Your best bet is one that lets you use points on multiple carriers. And if you're going abroad, a card that also waives the foreign-currency conversion fee is a plus. Two cards that waive the conversion charge are the no-fee PENFED PREMIUM TRAVEL REWARDS AMERICAN EXPRESS card (www.penfed.org) and the new CAPITAL ONE VENTURE card (www.capitalone.com). With the PenFed card, you earn five points per dollar spent on airfare, and one point for all other spending. The Venture card comes in two versions: a no-annual-fee card that awards 1.25 miles per dollar spent, and a card with a $59 annual fee (waived the first year) that rewards two miles per dollar spent. With the Venture card, the number of miles required varies with the ticket price you pay. For domestic travel, we recommend the no-fee SIMMONS FIRST VISA PLATINUM TRAVEL REWARDS card (www.simmonsfirst.com) and the U.S. BANK FLEXPERKS TRAVEL REWARDS VISA SIGNATURE card ($49 annual fee, waived the first year; www.usbank.com). With the Simmons card, you earn one point per dollar spent. Once you have 22,000 points, you qualify for a round-trip ticket worth up to $325 on any U.S. carrier to anywhere in the 48 contiguous states. With the U.S. Bank card, you can select from among more than 150 airlines. You earn one point for every dollar spent and double points on purchases in the category in which you spend the most (such as gas, groceries or airline travel). It takes 20,000 points to earn a $400 ticket, and you receive a $25 credit for baggage fees or in-flight food. text/html 2011-12-22T03:18:19+01:00 http://www.highestratescd.com http://www.highestratescd.com/general/give-the-brush-off-to-bump-up-cds.html WITH CERTIFICATES OF deposit still paying minuscule yields, a CD that lets you take advantage of rising rates before it matures seems like a no-brainer. But, as always, there may be a catch. Most banks that offer so-called bump-up CDs restrict them to one or two longer maturities. Plus, many banks that sell these CDs restrict them to walk-in customers -- Internet savers need not apply. Some banks make you jump through hoops to request the higher rate. At Dollar Bank (www.dollarbank.com), which has branches near Cleveland and Pittsburgh, you may bump up your rate to that of a higher-rate CD only if the maturity of the higher-rate CD exactly matches the length of time that remains on your CD. By contrast, Ally Bank (www.ally.com), an online bank, lets you bump up the rate on its two-year Raise Your Rate CD at any time; the CD currently earns 1.5%, one of the better rates for that maturity. But the biggest problem with bump-up CDs, says Chris Chantalat, of Money Rates.com, is that many earn less than ordinary CDs with comparable maturities. (For example, a 15-month Dollar Bank bump-up CD yields 0.3%.) So when you purchase a bump-up CD, you are gambling that rates will rise enough to exceed the spread before the CD's term ends. No doubt rates will rise eventually, but there is no evidence that it will happen anytime soon. Five-year CDs are yielding, at best, about 2.65%. Your safest option for the time being is to avoid bump-up CDs and invest in the highest-yielding CDs with the shortest maturities (see the table at right) to give you maximum flexibility when rates finally start going up. text/html 2011-12-22T03:18:19+01:00 http://www.highestratescd.com http://www.highestratescd.com/general/how-to-whip-inflation-now.html These four moves will put your finances in better shape, too. CONSUMER PRICES ARE rising at the fastest pace in more than two years, largely as a result of the hike in fuel and food prices. While few believe double-digit inflation rates will return anytime soon, the overall inflation rate is expected to hit 3% this year, up from 1.5% in 2010. Here are four moves to help you prepare for rising prices. Build a CD ladder. Inflation and higher interest rates usually go hand in hand. One good way to take advantage of higher rates on savings is to set up a certificate of deposit ladder, buying several CDs that mature at six-month intervals. The longer-term CDs will pay more today, while the shorter-term CDs will give you the ability to reinvest your money at higher rates of return when interest rates start to rise. Refinance your mortgage. Sooner or later, mortgage rates are also going to climb. The best way to check inflation on this big piece of your budget is to lock in a 30-year fixed-rate loan. Such loans are still at historically low rates, running about 4.5%. At that rate, principal and interest payments will he about $510 for each $100,000 you borrow. Be healthy. The cost of health insurance is projected to go up about 8% in the coming year. An unhealthy lifestyle can cost you in dozens of ways, including higher health premiums, co-payments and deductibles. Many companies provide financial incentives -- from gift cards to cut-rate insurance premiums -- if you're willing to participate in weight-management, smoking-cessation or Wellness programs they sponsor. Tiptoe into telecommuting. Today's biggest inflation driver is the price of gasoline, which rose by one-third over the past year. You can cut back on how much you use, particularly if your boss will let... text/html 2011-12-22T03:18:19+01:00 http://www.highestratescd.com http://www.highestratescd.com/general/listing-and-brokering-deposits-not-the-same.html I would like to clear up some misconceptions about Qwickrate and its nonbrokered CD marketplace that were presented in the April 5 article "Redefining Brokered Funds, and What It Means for Community Banks." It was stated and implied several times that Qwickrate investors are institutional depositors looking for "high-rate CDs." The facts demonstrate otherwise. * Year to date, deposits placed through Qwickrate have been, on average, 47 basis points below the national rate cap. Not what the market would consider a "high-rate" CD. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is well aware of the average CD rates of deposits placed in the Qwickrate marketplace as this information has been voluntarily provided to them on several occasions for the study report. * Qwickrate is a closed, institutional-only marketplace. The stable base of Qwickrate institutional investors who are placing deposits prioritize deposit insurance over deposit rates. They are segmenting their funds into increments of $250K or less for FDIC-insured deposits, and then placing these deposits in multiple banks across the country at the rates advertised and posted by the banks themselves in the Qwickrate marketplace. These institutional investors make their own investment decisions and there is a direct relationship between the CD issuer and the investor. * On their own, these investing institutions can individually research published bank rates and purchase CDs outside of the Qwickrate marketplace. They subscribe to Qwickrate for the convenience of having one place to directly connect with more than 3,000 members to view rates and place FDIC-insured deposits and for the automated tools that streamline the communications for them. It was stated that Qwickrate does not "technically" meet the definition of a brokered deposit. Qwickrate absolutely does not in any way meet the definition of a brokered deposit. Rather, Qwickrate meets the FDIC definition of a nonbrokered direct deposit listing service. In order...