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.

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.

Happy Rate Searching!!!

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

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.

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.