AmericaNet Bank, a division of Oklahoma based All-America Bank, is offering 3.10% APY on its Mega Money Market Account. Key featured of the account include:
Includes 6 FREE withdrawals per month ($5 fee for each additional withdrawal)
FREE Account (No Monthly Maintenance Fee)
FREE Daily Email Notification if Overdrawn
NO MINIMUM BALANCE
The account application is all electronic. Identify is authenticated via several questions pulled from your credit report. Funding the account can be electronically via ACH.
AmericaNet also offers a 5.25% APY Rewards Checking account on the first $25,000 deposited. The subsequent funds receive a lower rate of 2.25% APY, which is still competitive. To get the rate the sole requirement is that you must make 10 AmericaNet Bank® VISA® CheckCard sales transactions per month.
Safety and Soundness
All-America Bank, the parent company of AmericaNet Bank has a Bauer rating of 4 out of 5 stars (Excellent) for its safety and soudness. The bank has been FDIC insured since December 22, 1969 (Certificate # 20093).
Millions of investors have parked their cash in brokerage sweep accounts. In most cases, this is a bad idea.
As stock markets have crashed, millions of investors are holding a significant percent of their portfolio in their brokerage sweep accounts. While this is good for financial companies, it's terrible for investors. Sweep accounts offer rates of return as low as .01%. For banks, the accounts are a bonanza. They reinvest the money parked in these accounts at significantly higher rates, earning billions per year.
So, how do you make sure that you get a decent rate of return instead of funding your bank?
Move the money out of your brokerage account temporarily until you are ready to reinvest. High yield savings and money market accounts on the BestCashCow rate table pay above 3% APY. If you want to park significantly more than the FDIC limit of $250,000 per person per bank, then you may want to consider a CDARS program.
The disadvantage of getting these higher rates is that you'll have to move the money out of your brokerage and it can take 3-4 business days or longer to move the cash back in. If you don't need immediate access to your money, it's not a problem. But if you want to be able to transfer and trade, the time limit might be a drawback.
A solution to the access problem is to look for a companion savings account with your broker. Online stock brokers like Etrade and Charles Schwab offer relatively high savings accounts that provide ffast and easy transfer between brokerage and bank. Etrade is currently paying 1.95% APY while Schwab is paying 2% APY. BankDeals has a good review of the Schwab High Yield Investor Savings. Be sure to ask your broker about higher yielding options
Sweep accounts were never meant to be a place to park money for long periods of time. Your broker has no incentive to suggest you move your money elsewhere but if you ask they should be able to provide a better option. If they don't, at least you now know there are higher yielding places to invest your cash.
There were two more bank failures last Friday - Security Savings Bank of Henderson, NV and Heritage Community Bank of Glenwood, IL. These bank closings are the 15th and 16th bank failures for the year.
There were two more bank failures last Friday - Security Savings Bank and Heritage Community Bank. These bank closings are the 15th and 16th bank failures for the year. As has been the case with other bank failures this year, the FDIC has faciliated the transfer of deposits to another bank. That means that all regular deposits, even those above FDIC limits are being made whole. The only exception are brokered deposits. These will be held by the FDIC and its probably that brokered deposits over FDIC limits will be lost. This also seems to be an emerging pattern. If you have money brokered deposits you'd be wise to make sure the amounts are under FDIC limits for each institution in which the funds are invested.
Details of each bank failure are:
Security Savings Bank, Henderson, NV
Assets: $283.3 million
Deposits: $175.2 million
Purchasing Bank: Bank of Nevada, Las Vegas
Cost to FDIC: $59.1 million
Customer Access: Over the weekend, depositors of Security Savings Bank can access their money by writing checks or using ATM or debit cards. Checks drawn on the bank will continue to be processed. Loan customers should continue to make their payments as usual.
Heritage Community Bank, Glenwood, IL
Assets: $232 million
Deposits: $218.6 million
Purchasing Bank: MB Financial Bank, N.A., Chicago, Illinois
Cost to FDIC: $41.6 million
Customer Access: Over the weekend, depositors of Heritage Community Bank can access their money by writing checks or using ATM or debit cards. Checks drawn on the bank will continue to be processed. Loan customers should continue to make their payments as usual.
As we've seen with ever bank closing this year, the closing happens on a Friday, and customers retain access to funds over the weekend via ATMs and checks. The following the Monday the transitiont to the new owners have been made and funds can be withdrawn normally. FDIC insurance continues to operate smoothly.