1.85% Leads 3-Month CD Rates In August

TotalBank tops our survey of the best 3-month CD rates for the second straight month.

The Miami-based bank is offering less than the eye-catching 2.25% APY it was paying in July, with a $1,000 minimum deposit.

That deal was short-lived, dropping to 1.85% APY just days after it was posted.

But TotalBank has maintained that rate ever since and it’s still significantly higher than all other nationally available 3-month CD rates.

It’s also more than three times the average rate for 3-month certificates of deposit, which fell to a record low 0.49% APY last week.

The next-best banks in our August rankings have changed, but the rates they’re offering are very close to those in our July rankings:

1.55% APY with a $1,000 minimum from Beal Bank Nevada, which has a single office in Las Vegas.

1.55% APY with an $8,000 minimum from UFB Direct. CDs sold at UFBDirect actually come from Waterfield Bank, which has a couple of full-service offices in Carmel, Ind., and Germantown, Md.

These are all Internet specials and accounts must be opened online to qualify for these rates.

Click here to compare them with the best CD rates from dozens of other banks in our extensive database.

Related Posts:TotalBank Leaps To Top Of CD RatesUFBDirect 2.90% 12-month CDEarn 2.25% With Top 3-Month CD RatesEarn 2.50% With Top 6-Month CD RatesSmall Banks Lower Top CD Rates

Top 36-Month CD Rates Fall Below 3%

Intervest National Bank is now offering the best nationally available deal on 36-month certificates of deposit — 2.90% with a minimum deposit of $2,500.

The bank, which is based in New York City and has six branchs in the Clearwater, Fla., area, didn’t accomplish that by raising its rates.

It just stood pat while the two banks that had been offering better deals cut their rates.

newdominionDIRECT.com was the only bank paying more than 3% in our July survey of the best 36-month CD rates.

Boston-based First Trade Union briefly hit 3% earlier this month.

But both have pulled back well below 3%.

Frontier Bank with 38 locations in Washington and four in Oregon, is also offering 2.90% APY on a 3-year certificate of deposit.

The minimum deposit, however, is a hefty $25,000.

While Intervest and Frontier still beat the national average of 1.77% for 36-month CDs by more than a full percentage point, you’ll have to buy a top-paying 48-month CD to earn more than 3%.

(We’ve written about Intervest several times before and haven’t heard any complaints about its service. It’s also paying a respectable 2.50% APY on a 30-month CD and 3.15% on 48-month CDs, with the same $2,500 minimum deposit.)

You can use our extensive database of CD rates to compare these offers with the best deals from scores of other banks.

Related Posts:Intervest Bank 2.95% on 18-month CDIntervest National 2.60% Savings AccountFirst Trade Union Tops 36-Month CD Rates36-Month CD Rates Down But Not OutTop 36-Month CD Rates Remain Above 3%