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These rates are only available to residents of Massachusetts (MA), but I also wanted to take some time to let you know about some updates that will be coming down the pike. Over the next few months we will be completing an online database that will enable our rates pages to be more dynamic. As it is, each post has to be manually updated when rates change and I’m sure you get an idea of how much time that would take on a weekly basis.

We we will also be adding a 2nd navigation bar so that you can quickly view the top rates by term or rate. So if you are just looking for 1-year CD rates, click that button and that is what you will get. This should save you quite a bit of time in your rate searches.

And of course we will continue to offer our CD placement services to those that you want a little more attention or have larger portfolios that make rate finding more difficult.

And now for info on the bank. There are actually two Spencer Savings Banks. One in Massachusetts and one in New Jersey. This post is about the MA bank. The bank was founded in 1871. Like most banks in Massachusetts the bank carries dual insurance through the FDIC and Depositors Insurance Fund (DIF). The DIF insures all amounts above the FDIC limits. An interesting Tidbit: they weren’t covered by the FDIC until 1985. The dual insurance can be quite handy for depositors with large amounts at the bank.

FDIC#	90282
Stats Updated:	09/11
Star Rating:	3 1/2 (***)
Assets:	$373.8MM
Equity:	$48.9MM
Capital Ratio:	13.09%
Profits(loss):	$1.05M
Phone#:	(800) 547-2885
Address:	176 Main Street Spencer, MA 01562
Website:	https://www.spencersavingsbank.com

Spencer Savings Bank (MA) CD Rates

6-Months:	0.55%
7-Months:	0.65%
1-Year:	0.75%
13-Months:	0.85%
18-Months:	0.90%
2-Year:	1.15%
3-Year:	1.60%

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I sure wish I could deliver some awesome Christmas rate, but at least I can deliver Christmas greetings. I tracked down a poem and picture from the public domain so hopefully you enjoy. Have a Merry, Merry Christmas.

A Cradle Song

Sweet dreams, form a shade
O’er my lovely infant’s head!
Sweet dreams of pleasant streams
By happy, silent, moony beams!

Sweet Sleep, with soft down
Weave thy brows an infant crown!
Sweet Sleep, angel mild,
Hover o’er my happy child!

Sweet smiles, in the night
Hover over my delight!
Sweet smiles, mother’s smiles,
All the livelong night beguiles.

Sweet moans, dovelike sighs,
Chase not slumber from thy eyes!
Sweet moans, sweeter smiles,
All the dovelike moans beguiles.

Sleep, sleep, happy child!
All creation slept and smiled.
Sleep, sleep, happy sleep,
While o’er thee thy mother weep.

Sweet babe, in thy face
Holy image I can trace;
Sweet babe, once like thee
Thy Maker lay, and wept for me:

Wept for me, for thee, for all,
When He was an infant small.
Thou His image ever see,
Heavenly face that smiles on thee!

Smiles on thee, on me, on all,
Who became an infant small;
Infant smiles are His own smiles;
Heaven and earth to peace beguiles.

— William Blake (1757-1827)
Source: William Blake, Songs of Innocence and of Experience, 1794 Etext #1934, Project Gutenberg
www.hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!
cd :O)

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Bank of America has been in the news quite a bit lately. With the bad PR for wanting to raise fees on ATM/Debit type cards, bank transfer day, and more news about bad loans, I’m sure their PR folks are looking for something with a positive spin. Personally, the accounts they lost from the increased fees (they later changed their mind), has problem helped them. After all, I suspect they lost quite a few accounts that actually lost them money. So it was probably helpful. BofA isn’t really known for great CD rates, but they do have a competitive 7-year rate.

FDIC#	3510
Stats Updated:	09/11
Star Rating:	4 (****)
Assets:	$1.4TT
Equity:	$180.0B
Capital Ratio:	12.25%
Profits(loss):	14.82%
Phone#:	(800) 242-2632
Address:	101 South Tryon St. Charlotte,NC 28202
Website:	https://www.bankofamerica.com/

Bank of America CD Rates

1-Year:	0.45%
18-Months:	0.55%
2-Year:	0.40%
3-Year:	0.60%
4-Year:	0.85%
5-Year:	1.20%
7-Year:	2.30%

We recently added a couple of calculators to our site. One is an interest and APY calculator and the other is an Early Withdrawal Penalty calculator. Check them out and let me know what you think. Jumbo CD Investments Calculators
cd :O)

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AloStar Bank of Commerce provides some insight on the name on their website. It reads:

The Latin term, Alo, means to nourish, cherish, support, sustain, maintain and keep. These are words that say a lot about what we want to do for our customers as well as our employees. The word “Star” denotes many positives as well: a guiding light, a sign of destiny or a preeminent figure.

Man, that is some heavy stuff. The bank was created to take over the failed Nexity Bank. The bank’s site indicates $160MM was raised to seemingly purchase $750MM in assets. That seems like a pretty good deal.

FDIC#	59060
Stats Updated:	06/11
Star Rating:	NA (Start-up)
Assets:	$851.5MM
Equity:	$168.48MM
Capital Ratio:	19.8%
Profits(loss):	11.6M 6-months
Phone#:	(877) 738-6391
Contact:
Address:	3680 Grandview Parkway, Suite 200 Birmingham, AL 35243
Website:	http://alostarbank.com/investment/cds.asp

AloStar Bank of Commerce has an online process to open up new accounts. The biggest draw back is account has to be manually approved by them. If they approve the account they send you an email with a reference# that you can use as the account# to wire in the funds and complete the transaction. Our experience hasn’t been too bad.

1-Year:	1.12%
2-Year:	1.30%

Happy Rate Searching!!!

cd :O)

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F & M Bank and Trust Company has a very basic banking site. There is a login which in theory would provide more access to other tools, but without an account, I can’t review it. They were established in 1948 and have been FDIC insured since 1950.

FDIC#	16916
Stats Updated:	06/11
Star Rating:	1 (*)
Assets:	$101.8MM
Equity:	$8.8MM
Capital Ratio:	8.57%
Profits(loss):	(420K) 6-months
Phone#:	(706) 846-8415
Contact:
Address:	142 W. Main Street Manchester, GA 31816
Website:	http://www.fmbankandtrust.com/

F & M Bank and Trust Company has five options on their main site: 1) Security 2) Contact us 3) Privacy 4) Questions and 5) Begin Banking. No rates or account type information is available on the public site. They aren’t a very large bank so probably have some very loyal depositors that don’t need all the flash, etc. On the other hand, they do have an operating loss and lost money the last couple of years as well. It may be time for an upgrade to their on-line offerings. I did send a request for their rates and stuff. If I get a response I will post them.

1-Year:	—-%
18-Months:	—-%
2-Year:	—-%
3-Year:	—-%
4-Year:	—-%
5-Year:	—-%

Happy Rate Searching!!!

I did post a new IRA FAQ, check it out.

cd :O)

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Ally Bank (formerly GMAC) has some very competitive rates. They have tried to steer clear of the GMAC badge and re-create themselves as a no-nonsense bank. They opened in August of 2004 and changed the name in May 2009. They have grown quite rapidly and now are one of the larger banks in the country with over $77 Billion in assets.

Current Rates:
Updated:	11/17/11
6-Months:	0.74%
9-Months:	0.75%
1-Year:	1.01%
18-Months:	1.09%
2-Year:	1.19%*
3-Year:	1.40%
4-Year:	1.60%*
5-Year:	1.89%

FDIC#	57803
Stats Updated:	06/11
Star Rating:	5 (*****)
Assets:	$77.4BB
Equity:	$11.9BB
Capital Ratio:	15.40%
Profits(loss):	$495.98MM
Address:	6985 Union Park Center Suite 435 Midvale, UT 84047
Penalty:	60-days of lost interest (5-year CD)
Website:	www.ally.com

Ally Bank has strong financials. They and Aurora Bank, have been running almost neck and neck.

Their early withdrawal penalty has been popular and caused somewhat of a stir. It is only 60-days of interest and most banks have language to the effect of "if we consent" which means they could technically not honor a request to close a CD early. Ally Bank does not. Any body have experience with this bank, please leave a comment.

cd :O)

*The 2-year and 4-year CD offer a bump-up feature. You can adjust the rate during the term if rates move higher. Your original CD term remains intact.

Update: 06/28/11 - We have been contacted by an agency that is handling ads for the bank and we are hosting those ads. So although we aren't being paid for this review directly, we are paid for the referrals that we send. Hopefully, though you will still find this an unbiased commentary.

Tweet While searching the internet I came across some good rates for you. I decided to go ahead and link directly to the sites I found them on. I have actually corresponded with the owner of DepositAccounts. US Senate FCU has a 5-year CD at 3.33% APY, 4-year at 2.79%, 3-year at 2.23%. Those are the top long-term rates I’ve seen in a while. They also have a competitive 2-year at 1.44% and 1-year at 1.10%. DepositAccounts has all of the details on how to join and such. Alliant CU still has the top 1-year at 1.30% and 2-year at 1.70%. I’ve reviewed them before here Review of Alliant CU. In the brokered CD market we have seen rates pushing up a little. Seems to be a case of supply and demand. Banks are having to raise their rates slightly to get the eyes of people who may have limited funds or just feel like playing the waiting game. So far this hasn’t spilled into the direct CDs, but it may. That would be a welcome event as the Fed has promised to keep Fed Funds low until 2013. If you find a good CD rate, let us know and we’ll feature it here on the blog. Have a great day, cd :O)

Tweet Agriculture Federal Credit Union often has competitive rates. Especially on the longer-term CD rates. They have been around a long time and it doesn’t look like they are going away, anytime soon.

1-Year:	0.90%
2-Year:	1.20%
3-Year:	1.50%
4-Year:	1.90%
5-Year:	2.25%

Let me know if you have any experience with this Credit Union. cd :O)

Tweet I apologize for the image, I just couldn’t help myself when I saw it. Don’t worry, the aliens aren’t coming and you don’t need to flee to the hills. As the title indicates, “Stay the Course!” Panic is never a good thing. It often leads us to making rash decisions that we regret later. The stock market is volatile by nature. It will go down, back-up, down again, and back-up yet again. History shows that you have a high probability of coming out ahead if you stay the course. I’m not telling you to never sell a stock or that it is never the right time to move out of an ETF. What I am telling you is do your homework. Research your decision before you make it. What I would say is find your governmental representatives office and demand “Take me to your leader!”. Sit down and have a nice chat with them. Let them know that just like you have make hard choices when your income drops (no cable, no new car, sell the boat, etc.) you expect them to do the same. The money isn’t there. Things have to be cut. And they should start with themselves. Maybe they can go out and get a 2001 Honda Accord instead of a 2012 Cadillac Escalade. I realize I am a CD guy. So I included a link to some rates from Aurora at the top. At a different institution, we still have a 10-year at 3.35% APR / 3.40% APY. It has a 1-year early withdrawal penalty. If closed after 2-years, you would net 1.47% and after 3-years you would net 2.13%. There is a fee for this CD, but all rates are quoted net of fees. With the Fed indicating they will keep rates low into 2013, this just seems like a good CD. You get income now and have a reasonable hedge against rising interest rates. Feel free to leave any comments. cd :O)

Image: africa / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Tweet BNC Bank‘s vision statement: “Delivering financial solutions business people demand”. Their logo gives the impression of trying to chart a path through turbulent waters. These days I think that is what everyone is hoping for. However, so many banks have shaken our trust, it will take more than a fancy logo to win us over.

FDIC#	57197
Stats Updated:	03/11
Star Rating:	2 (**)
Assets:	$681MM
Equity:	$58.4MM
Capital Ratio:	8.57%
Profits(loss):	$961K
Phone#:	1-800-BNC-BANK (1-800-262-2265)
Contact:	Customer Service
Address:	20175 North 67th Avenue Glendale, AZ, 85308
Website:	http://www.bncbank.com/

BNC Bank has mixed reviews. Some focus on their mortgage business. You can read them here: http://kansascity.citysearch.com/profile/41232589/leawood_ks/bnc_national_bank_mortgage_div.html. I always take reviews with a grain of salt. But these seemed to be more honest then most. As always, ask lots of questions and just make sure you are comfortable. If that inner voice continues to be telling you, “No!”, it is probably best to move on. They do have an A+ rating from the BBB. A large bank such as theirs is bound to have difficulty pleasing everyone. They only have their savings rate posted online. It is a paltry 0.10%.

1-Year:	%
18-Months:	%
2-Year:	%
3-Year:	%
4-Year:	%
5-Year:	%

They have branches in Arizona, Minnesota, and North Dakota. They are a relatively new bank, being established in 2001. They have grown pretty impressively, but currently with a 2-star rating seems like they might be making some costly sacrifices.