iGObanking.com is offering a competitive 9 month CD paying 4.15% APY. As the BestCashCow rate table shows, that's 9 basis points better than the best 6 month cd rate, but 21 basis points below the best 1 year cd rate of (4.26% APY).

To get the rate, you must fund them with new money to iGobanking.com.

iGObanking.com uses an all electronic account opening process, which means you confirm your identity by answering questions pulled from your credit report. These questinos may include your monthly mortgage payment, the size of your car loans, etc. The electronic process eliminates the need to email a signature card back and forth and means your account can be instantly opened.

The bank also allows you to fund your account via an ACH transfer. Once you initiate the transfer on iGObanking.com, the bank will pull money from an existing checking account you have elsewhere. ACH transfers can take between 2-4 business days.

Withdrawing money once your cd rolls over is not as easy. You must either request a check or transfer the money into a savings account at the bank. Their savings account currently pays a moderately competitive savings rate of 3.28% APY.

iGObanking.com is a division of Flushing Savings Bank. It is FDIC insured and has a Bauer rating of 4 stars out of 5.

As was discussed in a recent article published on BestCashCow, now may not be a bad time to lock in a cd rate. The financial data seems to indicate that rates will be falling over the next couple of months as financial markets continue to feel the impact of the banking crisis and recession.

Compare the best online 1-year CD rates here.

Editor's Note: Subsequent to the original publication of this article, the FDIC acted to permanently raise FDIC ownership to $250,000 per deposit in each ownership category at a single financial institution. More information on FDIC coverage can be found at fdic.gov.

In October, the FDIC raised the limit on deposit insurance from $100,000 per person to $250,000 per person. But the increase is not permanent. And after December 31, 2009, FDIC is set to roll back its coverage. That's important information for anyone interested in investing in longer-term certificates of deposit (cds).

Why?

If you invest $200,000 in a five year CD now, you're entire $200,000 will be covered until December 31, 2009. After that, once coverage rolls back, only $100,000 will be covered, even though when you opened the CD the entire amount was insured. I called the FDIC today and they confirmed this.

So, if you are interested in opening a longer-term CD and want your investment to remain fully insured, make sure you stay within the $100,000 limit. There is a good chance that the FDIC will extend the increased coverage, but not guarantee. And you don't want to be stuck in a CD with a portion of your investment no longer insured.

We noticed today that Crestmark Bank is not taking new CD money which we thought was a little strange. They generally offer competitive rates and as of yesterday had the best 3 month CD rate on the BestCashCow rate tables. I called them to learn more and spoke with Gus Mattia, a Senior Vice President and the bank's Controller.

Mr. Mattia told me that all is fine at Crestmark and that pulling out of the market is something they do from time-to-time when they get behind in processing paperwork. He also told me that Crestmark has no exposure to the subprime market or even the consumer lending market. They do not do consumer loans. Instead, Crestmark lends to businesses for such things as factoring receivables, dealing with seasonal cash flow issues, funding sales growth, and more. Mr. Mattia told me they have been in operation for 12 years, are profitable, and are well capitalized.

He also told me that they will probably start accepting cd deposits again in the next two to three days once they are caught up with the paperwork.

Crestmark Bank has a Bauer rating of 3 1/2 starts out of 5.

Meanwhile, find the best online CD rates here and the best online savings rates here.