First National Community Bank is offering a 15-month and 18-month CD that pays 2.25% APY when you also open a Maximum Earnings Checking Account. That's one of the best cd rates for either 15-month or 18-month terms. The checking account is a rewards checking offer and pays 4.01% APY on the first $25,000 deposited as long as certain activity thresholds are met. These include:

• Conduct 10 debit card transactions per "qualification cycle" excluding ATM transactions
• Receive your monthly statement electronically
• Set up one monthly recurring direct deposit or ACH debit payment

The rewards checking account pays 1.01% APY on balances over $25,000. The best way to take advantage of this is open the rewards account, fund it with $25,000 and roll the rest into a 12 or 18-month CD.

Opening An Account

This offer is available nationally and accounts can be opened online. It looks like there is a newer application for the Max Earnings Checking account while opening a CD is done by filling out the app online, printing it out, and mailing it in.

About First National Community Bank

First National Community Bank has 22 branches concentrated in northeast Pennsylvania. The bank had $1.3 billion in assets as of June 30, 2009. bauer Financial gives it a 3 out of 5 stars (Adequate) for its safety and soundness. The bank is FDIC insured.

Billionaire investor Wilbur Ross said today that the US in entering a huge commercial real estate crash. You thought the residential crash was bad, just wait.

In a Bloomberg article, Ross said:

"“All of the components of real estate value are going in the wrong direction simultaneously,” said Ross, one of nine money managers participating in a government program to remove toxic assets from bank balance sheets. “Occupancy rates are going down. Rent rates are going down and the capitalization rate -- the return that investors are demanding to buy a property -- are going up.”

There has been a lot of talk about a commercial crash for the past six months. Just a week ago, Capmark, one of the largest real estate lenders filed for Chapter 11. The banks are surely quaking in their shoes as they look into a possible tidal wave of commercial defaults.

Ross has been dubbed the King of Bankruptcy and likes buying distressed businesses. Recently, he was part of the investment group that purchased Corus Bankshares. Corus was known on BestCashCow for its very competitive CD rates.

Southern Commerce Bank of offering a 12-month CD that pays 2.30% APY. That's the best 12-month CD rate according to the BestCashCow rate tables. In addition, the bank is offering other competitive CD terms including 15-month and 2-year CDs.

The has a $500 minimum balance and is nationally available.

The CD can be opened online. I called the bank and had some initial trouble getting through (tip, call a branch directly instead of the telebanking center). Although it says you need to visit a branch in order to verify your identify the CSR told me that it could be done by mailing back a copy of your license and other form of ID. Funding can be done via check or wire transfer.

Southern Commerce Bank is headquartered in Tampa, Florida and has 11 branches. The bank had $211 million in assets as of June 30, 2009. The bank was given 1 out of 5 stars (Troubled) by Bauer Financial for its safety and soundness. The bank itself has run into problems with its loan portfolio and has no doubt raised rates in order to bring in more deposit dollars to shore up its balance sheet. It's something we've seen with many financially distressed banks.

Southern Commerce is FDIC insured so your money is safe as long as you stay below FDIC insurance limits.

Please share any comments about opening a CD with Southern Commerce Bank below.