Weekly Rate Deal - First National Bank of St. Ignace Offering 12-Month Flex CD at 1.51% APY

A reader emailed me today about a great 12-month CD deal from the First National Bank of St. Ignace. The bank is paying 1.51% APY on a 12 month CD for balances over $10,000. The average 1-year CD rate according to BestCashCow is 0.60% APY. But to make the deal even better, the bank allows you to withdraw any funds above $10,000 as many times as you want, within reason. So, you get a guaranteed good rate of 1.51% APY and you have the flexibility of pulling money from the CD if you need it for expenses or simply want to reinvest it at a higher rate should rates go up - which they won't in the next 12 months.

First National Bank is also offering a 36-month CD paying 2.28% APY with a minimum balance of $100,000. It's not the top rate in the country but it's close and much higher than the BestCashCow average of 1.14% APY.

The CDs must be opened in person at one of the seven branches located on the upper Penninsula of Michigan. Interestingly, it seems that a lot of the top rates lately have been from banks located near the Canadian border. I wonder if the relatively robust Canadian economy has spillover effects close to the border? Research I did earlier in the year suggested that banks in the mid-West provided higher rates, possibly due to a booming commodity market.

The bank looks to be in improving financial shape. In 2006, the bank's Texas ratio was 53% but it has come down over the past five years to 21% today. That's close to the national average. The bank has $214 million in assets, up from $185 million in 2006.

For those of you unfamiliar with St. Ignace, as I was, it looks like a popular vacation destination in the Upper Penninsula.

If you don't think you'll make it to St. Ignace or the surrounding towns anytime soon to open a CD, there are tens of thousands of other rates in our database. Find the best CD rates in your local area by clicking through to our tables above.

Previous Weekly Rate Deals

• Oct 17, 2011 - Weekly Rate Deal - Navy Federal Credit Union Offering 3% APY 12-Month CD
• Oct 7, 2011 - Farmers & Traders Bank Takes Weekly Rate Deal for 3% APY 60-Month CD

Check back next Monday for a new bank deal. Email any deals you know about to ratedeal (at) bestcashcow.com. Feel free to also share them below. If you're a bank and have a great deal not listed on BestCashCow, register for access and add the deal to the site.

Have a good week!