Important policies and fee information are often hidden in long, highly technical banking literature, according to Pew’s research of more than 250 checking accounts offered online by the nation’s 10 largest banks. The median length of disclosure documents is 111 pages and includes account agreements, addendums, fee schedules, and pages on the banks’ Web sites.

Pew’s checking disclosure template is one page with clear details on the account fees, overdraft policies and hold times. As described by the NYT Bucks blog, the new Chase disclosure didn’t exactly meet Pew’s template. It was three pages instead of one, but it did meet the spirit of Pew’s template. The two credit unions, Pentagon Federal Credit Union and North Carolina State Employees’ Credit Union, were able to keep their simplified disclosures to one page. PenFed’s disclosure adds an extra section at the bottom with additional checking account service fees. Half of SECU’s disclosure is the processing policies and dispute resolution.

Pew’s model checking account disclosure form is just a recommendation to banks and credit unions. There is discussion that the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau may someday require all banks to standardize on a simplified disclosure.

There is already regulation that defines required account documentation and fee disclosures. This is the Truth in Savings Act of 1991 (Regulation DD). However, as I described in this April post, there are many reasons why improvements need to be made to the Truth in Savings Act.

Simple and Standard CD Disclosure?

All this attention on a simple and standardize checking account disclosure made me think that we need the same thing for certificates of deposit. Too many banks and credit unions hide their early withdrawal penalties and policies in the disclosures. As we learned this year when Fort Knox FCU increased the early withdrawal penalty on existing CDs, the policies that cover the early withdrawal penalty can be complicated and hard to find. If customers don’t understand these policies, a premature withdrawal may be much more costly than they had anticipated.

If I were to propose a simplified CD disclosure form, it would include a section for early withdrawal. The section would clearly specify the amount of the early withdrawal penalty, whether partial withdrawals of principal are allowed, whether approval by the bank is required for early withdrawal, and if the bank reserves the right to change the early withdrawal penalty on existing CDs before maturity.

What other details would you like to see in a standardized CD disclosure form?

Deposit Accounts

With the $ 25K maximum deposit, you can earn about $ 167 with this CD. That’s about $ 83 more than an account that has a 1.00% APY.

First Entertainment Credit Union also has a savings account called Firt500 Savings in which you can earn 5.00% APY on your first $ 500 (this used to be 7%). To qualify for this yield, you’re required to have a checking account with eStatements and either Online Billpayer or Direct Deposit. The low cap prevents this from being a great deal. You only can make about $ 20/year more than what you would make in a 1.00% savings account. You won’t want to join the credit union for this, but it’s an extra bonus if you join for the CD.

This credit union regularly comes out with some attractive CD deals. In 2010 they were offering a 1.75% 11-month special CD and in 2007 they were offering a 6% CD. A reader commented about opening these certificates in 2007 and thought “they were easy to deal with and pleasant.”

Membership is open to most individuals who live, work, attend school or worship in the Greater Los Angeles Area. You can also be eligible via select employee groups and via family members (and not just immediate family). Please refer to the credit union’s Becoming a Member Page for more details. Membership requires a one-time fee of $ 5 and a minimum deposit of $ 5 into the First500 Savings Account.

First Entertainment Credit Union branches are located in the California cities of Burbank, Hollywood, Culver City, Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Studio City and Valencia. The credit union is also part of the CU Service Centers which allows you to conduct many banking transactions at other credit unions which are part of this shared branching network.

The credit union has an overall health score at DepositAccounts.com of 4 stars (out of 5) with a Texas Ratio of 14.53% (above average) based on September 2011 data. Please refer to our financial overview of First Entertainment Credit Union for more details. The credit union is federally insured by the NCUA (Charter # 68373).

How This CD Rate Compares

In today’s environment, it’s very hard to find 3-month and 6-month CD rates over 1.00%. The highest 6-month CD bank rate that’s nationally available is 0.85% APY at Virtual Bank. For credit unions, the highest rate is 1.20% APY (with a relationship) and 0.95% APY (without a relationship) at Digital Credit Union. For short-term CDs, it’s hard to beat Ally Bank’s 11-month No-Penalty CD which has a 0.91% APY. The no-penalty feature allows you to make this CD to have any term you want from 7 days to 11 months (see my review). These rates are accurate as of 12/26/2011.

Searching for the Best CD Rates

To search for the best nationwide CD rates and the best CD rates in your state, please refer to the CD rates section of DepositAccounts.com.

Deposit Accounts

It’s a small credit union with two branches located in Los Angeles and Orange, California. What makes this credit union unusual is its field of membership. Here’s what is stated on the credit union’s front page regarding membership:

Polish descendants and friends of the Polish Community are free to join POLAM. Visit us, bring a valid ID, a minimum deposit of $ 100 and $ 20 for the PAC membership fee. You will be enrolled as a member of the Polish American Congress.

I have covered a few other credit unions with fields of membership based on ethnicity. One in particular is Self Reliance New York FCU in New York City which only accepts those with Ukrainian descent. Readers have learned from the credit union that it’s very difficult to qualify. It appears Polam FCU makes it easier. If you join Polam, please leave a comment about how easy it was to join.

The credit union has an overall health score at DepositAccounts.com of 3 stars (out of 5) with a Texas Ratio of 10.22% (above average) based on September 2011 data. Please refer to our financial overview of Polam Credit Union for more details. The credit union is federally insure by the NCUA (Charter # 19739).

How These CD Rates Compare

These CD rates are very competitive for the LA metro area. For those who live east of LA in San Bernardino County, you can qualify to join Alaska USA FCU which has even higher rates. These include a 2.75% APY 5-year CD and a 2.10% APY 3-year CD for a $ 100K minimum deposit.

Another good CD deal for those in Southern California is the 59-month CD special at US Bank. This is also available nationwide.

The best 3-year and 5-year CD rates available nationwide are at Melrose Credit Union which has a 1.91% APY 3-year CD and a 2.68% APY 5-year CD.

These rates are accurate as of 12/22/2011.

Searching for the Best CD Rates

To search for the best nationwide CD rates and the best CD rates in your state, please refer to the CD rates section of DepositAccounts.com.

Deposit Accounts

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There was some good economic news this week to start the holidays. First-time jobless claims unexpectedly fell this week to the lowest level since April 2008. New home sales rose to a 7-month high, and durable goods rose in November by the most in 4 months. However, not all of the news pointed to a fast economic recovery. Consumer spending and incomes rose just 0.1% last month. As the economy improves, interest rates will eventually rise. The question is how long will we have to wait. The Fed may want to see considerable improvement before they start to hike rates. I reviewed a WSJ article yesterday that indicated a Fed change in which the mid-2013 pledge of low rates may change to a pledge to keep rates low until certain economic metrics are met which could mean no rake hikes before 2014.

The economic news did spur Treasury yields higher this week. The yield summary below shows the changes (Numbers are based on Yahoo bond rate data and the CME Group FedWatch.)

Treasury Yields:

• 6-month: 0.02% same as last week
• 2–year: 0.28% up from 0.22% last week
• 5–year: 0.97% up from 0.80% last week
• 10-year: 2.02% up from 1.85% last week
• 30-year: 3.05% up from 2.85% last week

Fed funds futures’ implied probability for a higher rate by:

• Dec 2012: 14.6% up from 11.9% last week
• Mar 2013: 18.6% up from 12.7% last week
• July 2013: 33.0% up from 21.6% last week

There were no bank failures on Friday. The number of bank failures for 2011 remains at 92. If we don’t see any failures next week, 92 will be the final number of bank failures for 2011. There was one credit union that failed last week. It was a tiny credit union in Birmingham, Alabama. That puts the number of federally insured credit unions liquidated this year at 15.

Before New Years I’ll have my full 2011 summary of bank and credit union failures. Here’s my 2010 bank failure summary that I published last year.

Savings & Checking Account Rates

It was reported on Fatwallet that Alliant Credit Union will be cutting its savings and checking rates by 15 basis points effective January 1st. I haven’t been able to confirm this pending change, but I wouldn’t be surprised. The last savings and checking rate cuts at Alliant were on January 2011.

Two rate cuts that took effect this week were at CNB Bank Direct and Capital One. CNB Bank Direct cut its savings account rate from 1.00% to 0.90%. Capital One reduced its promotional checking rate from 0.91% to 0.75%. They continue to guarantee this rate for one year, but with this rate cut, that’s not nearly as appealing.

The two highest rates continue to be UFB Direct’s savings account with a 1.30% APY and Flagstar Bank’s savings account with a promotional 1.25% APY guaranteed for 4 months from account opening. UFB Direct has been offering its 1.30% APY since August. Those who jumped on this deal in August have been rewarded with several months of this savings account rate.

Reward Checking Accounts

There continues to be no rate cuts on my short list of nationally available reward checking accounts. There have also been no changes to the 4-percent club that I last reviewed on December 14th. These are local deals that offer at least 4.00% APY on balances of at least $ 25K. There are currently 7 of these, but 2 have rate and/or balance cap cuts scheduled for January.

To see the reward checking account rates available in your state, please refer to the reward checking rate table. If you’re new to these tables, my rate table guide should be useful, and if you’re new to reward checking, my blog post, 10 Common Traits of High-Yield Reward Checking, should also be useful.

Rate Hikes:

1. None

Rate Cuts:

1. Alliant CU Savings – 1.00% reportedly sch for Jan [currently 1.15%]
2. Alliant CU Checking – 0.95% reporedly sch for Jan [currently 1.10%]
3. CNB Bank Direct Savings – 0.90% [was 1.00%]
4. Capital One Checking – 0.75% w/1-yr guarantee [was 0.91%]

Certificate of Deposit Rates

My recap of CD rate changes and the list of CD deals will now be in my survey of the best CD rates. This recap will now focus on banking news of the week and liquid accounts.

Recap for the Week – Links to This Week’s Posts

Banking News/Resources

• Little Known Service at Your Local Bank: Medallion Stamp
• Banks & Credit Unions that Don’t Allow POD Beneficiaries

Savings/Checking Accounts – Nationwide

• No new posts this week

CD Deals/Resources – National

• Survey of the Best CD Rates for December 23, 2011
• Navy Federal’s IRA CD Special & Top CD Rates – Limited Membership
• Long-Term CD Rates Continue to Decline

Checking/Savings/CC Bonuses

• Another Perk with a Perkstreet Financial Checking Account

Reward Checking Accounts

• No new posts this week

CD and Money Market Deals – Local

• Special Short-Term CD Rates at CapitalSource Bank in California
• Top Long-Term CD Rates at Polam Federal Credit Union in SoCal – Limited Membership
• Top 5-Year Jumbo CD Rate at Nutmeg State FCU in Connecticut – Local Only
• Top Long-Term CD Rates at Royal Bank America in PA & NJ – Local Only

Posts from Previous Weeks

• Archive of 2011 Posts

The rates listed below are based on Annual Percentage Yield (APY). No minimum balances are required unless noted. MMA next to the rates indicate a money market account. Most MMAs have check writing and ATM cards. Online savings accounts usually lack both of these. Previous weekly summaries are available at this page.

Rates as of December 24, 2011

Checking/Savings/Money Market Accounts:

• Best Savings Account Rates (Nationwide & by State)
• Best Money Market Rates (Nationwide & by State)
• Best Checking Account Rates (Nationwide & by State)

• How to View Rates for Your State

• Noteworthy Accounts Available Nationwide:

• UFB Direct (Bank of Internet) – 1.30% Savings account review
• Flagstar Bank – 1.25% savings (4-month promo) promo review
• AmTrustDirect – 1.15% (min $ 5K) promo rate
• MyBankingDirect – 1.15% (min $ 5K) promo rate
• Alliant Credit Union – 1.15% (min $ 100) Savings (January APY 1.00%) account review
• Incredible Bank – 1.10% MMA ($ 2.5K min) account review
• Alliant Credit Union – 1.10% Checking (January APY 0.95%) (req’s elec. dep & e-stmts) account review
• Clear Sky Accounts – 1.04% (max $ 250K) account review
• Incredible Bank – 1.01% Checking ($ 1K min) account review
• SFGI Direct – 1.01% account review
• Capital One/Costco – 1.00% InterestPlus Savings ($ 10K min, includes 10% quarterly bonus) 0.91% (w/o bonus) account review
• Discover Bank – 1.00% Savings (min $ 500) account review
• Sallie Mae Bank – 1.00% MMA & Savings account review
• ING Direct – 0.95% ($ 100K) 0.90% ($ 50K) Electric Orange Checking
• airbanking.com – 0.95% Savings
• Hudson City Savings Bank – 0.90% (min $ 2.5K)
• American Express Bank – 0.90%, account review
• CNB Bank Direct – 0.90% account review
• Ally Bank – 0.89% MMA/savings account review
• Capital One – 0.88% InterestPlus Savings ($ 10K min, includes 10% quarterly bonus) 0.80% (w/o bonus) account review
• ING Direct – 0.85% Orange Savings
• Colorado Federal Savings Bank – 0.85% ($ 2.5K min) account review
• Capital One – 0.75% Checking (rate guaranteed for 1 yr) account review
• SmartyPig – 0.70% (min $ 25, max $ 50K) withdrawal restrictions, account review

Reward Checking Accounts:

• Best Reward Checking Account Rates for a $ 10,000 Balance – Nationally Available
• Best Reward Checking Account Rates for a $ 25,000 Balance – Nationally Available

• How to View Rates for Your State

• Noteworthy Accounts Available Nationwide:

• Consumers Credit Union – 4.09% (up to $ 10K) 0.56% ($ 10K-$ 25K) 0.35% ($ 25K+)
• Lake Michigan Credit Union – 3.00% (up to $ 15K) 0.00% ($ 15K+)
• ABCO Federal Credit Union – 2.52% (up to $ 25K) 0.50% ($ 25K+)
• Pacific Resource Credit Union – 2.27% (up to $ 15K) 0.50% ($ 15K+)
• Provident Credit Union – 2.26% (up to $ 25K) 0.31% ($ 25K+)
• First New England Federal Credit Union – 2.03% (up to $ 15K) 0.10% ($ 15K+) (extra 1% w/relationship)
• Atlantic Coast Bank – 2.01% (up to $ 15K) 0.50% ($ 15K+)
• Community Bank of Raymore – 2.01% (up to $ 25K) 0.50% ($ 25K+)
• Community Bank of Pleasant Hill – 2.01% (up to $ 25K) 0.50% ($ 25K+)
• Connexus Credit Union – 2.00% (up to $ 25K) 0.50% ($ 25K+)
• Heritage Bank – 1.71% (up to $ 25K) 0.10% ($ 25K+)
• Avidia Bank – 1.66% (up to $ 25K) 0.10% ($ 25K+)
• North Country Savings Bank – 1.50% (up to $ 50K) 0.75% ($ 50K+)
• West Texas National Bank – 1.26% (up to $ 25K) 0.25% ($ 25K+)
• Bank of Internet USA – 1.25% APY (all balances)

Certificates of Deposit:

• Best CD Rates (Nationwide & by State)
• Best IRA CD Rates (Nationwide & by State)

• How to View Rates for Your State

• Survey of the Best CD Rates for December 23, 2011 (Nationwide & Local)

Various Deposit Account Deals

• Bank Promotions
• Best IRA CD rates, local and nationwide deals
• Latest CD and Savings Account Deals with No Major Deposit Limitiations

Bank Account Alternatives

• Ford Interest Advantage – 1.25% rate for $ 50k+, Ford Interest Advantage review
• GE Interest Plus – 1.20% rate for $ 50k+
• Vanguard Prime Money Market Fund – 0.02% 7-day yield
• Vanguard Tax-Exempt Money Market Fund – 0.01% 7-day yield
• Fidelity Money Market Fund – 0.01% 7-day yield (reviews on Fatwallet)
• Fidelity Municipal Money Market Fund – 0.01% 7-day yield
• TIAA-CREF Money Market Fund – 0.00% 7-day yield
• PayPal Money Market Fund has ended effective 7/29/11
• FW Thread on Treasury Bills
• Series I Savings Bonds for November 2011, I Bond Article, I Bonds as CD Alternatives

Historical Rates from the Federal Reserve (Federal funds, Treasury bills, CD’s)
Deposit Accounts

The last few months, survey after survey has revealed angst. Many people are saying they will delay retirement and work until at least 80. They are looking at 401ks and other retirement accounts and are wondering where in the world is the money going to come from to fuel the fun? There’s a certain gloom, “we’ll never make it” hanging in the retirement air.

But you know what they say about fear – it’s false evidence appearing real. For sure, some fears around retirement are based on a very harsh reality. But what gets lost in all the panic is that you are not powerless. If you step back, assess where you are right now on the road retirement and don’t like what you see, the journey is not over, rechart your course.

Here’s how to put your fears to rest.

Pay yourself first

You might think it’s selfish to consider yourself number one, but when it comes to money, pay yourself first. Quite simply, explains Kevin Kautzmann, a certified financial planner with EBNY Financial, — treat yourself like a bill. All the other bills get paid; just make sure you do too. If you don’t make your savings a priority, you’ll fall short in your savings goal. Take advantage of the fact that the limit on 401k goes up in 2012 to $ 17,000. Don’t leave any employer matches on the table. Be ready to say no. Too many people are bailing out their children and grandchildren and putting their retirement at risk.

Invest wisely

Do not invest in highly volatile investments as volatility never ends well, cautions Jeff Sica, of Sica Wealth Management. Forget chasing market rallies. They are often short lived and result in ending up with stocks declining substantially. He also isn’t into bargain hunting when it comes to stocks because it’s difficult to determine what is a bargain and what is not in an overly volatile market like today. Keep your investment philosophy simple: consider your worst case scenario in making an investment. If that investment would permanently alter your lifestyle if it didn’t work out, don’t do it.

Develop a plan

Stop guessing. Many investors, even the wealthy are anxious in large part due to a lack of understanding of investment/planning basics. Executing a comprehensive retirement plan which illustrates potential outcomes based on varying assumptions regarding rates of return, inflation, and longevity for example, can go a long way in allaying investor fears. When going through this process, a lucky few will inevitably come to realize that even when very negative assumptions are made, they still have a very low likelihood of ever running out of money, says John Hauserman, president of RetirementQuest Wealth Management. Even if you don’t arrive at that rosy conclusion, you will at least reach a point in which you are able to focus on the real risks rather than being routinely overwhelmed by the non-stop barrage of financial negativity.

Focus on priorities

Distinguish the difference between your needs and your wants. Needs are expenses that would prove catastrophic should you fail to cover them, like your mortgage, rent, and utilities. Wants are the second home, gifting to children. Much of the dread people feel about retirement comes from the fear that they won’t be able to meet their needs. Building lower risk investment strategies designed to cover your basic needs can provide a high degree of comfort for retirees. However, if you have the appetite for risk, earmark those strategies for your “wants”. Failure to reach your wants does not embody the same tragic consequences.

Julie Murphy Casserly, a certified financial planner with JMC Wealth Management keeps it real: stop thinking about all the “should dos” for preparing for retirement and listen to your own intuition as to how your money has to be set up to serve you best. Visualize your ideal years in retirement and then align your money with that visualization.

To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom.

Deposit Accounts