Wachovia Bank is offering an online-only competitive 3.5% APY money market in some parts of the country.
Wachovia recently joined the high rate fray by offering a top rate on their 2 year CD. In some locations, they are also offering a 3.5% APY money market account. The account has a minimum balance of $1,000. I called to inquire where the offer was avaiable and the CSR was unaware that it was even being offered. It looks like Wachovia needs to do a better job of communucating to their front line customer service reps.
To find out if you qualify for the offer, go to their savings and CD page. It will ask you to enter your zip code. Once you do, you'll either see the offer, or you won't.
This is all part of Wachovia's push to recapitalize itself via its deposit base. With billions in bad loans outstanding, and billions in floating-rate notes that need to be refinanced, look for Wachovia to continue to offer attractive rates.
There has been some speculation about Wachovia's financial health recently because of mortgage-related losses. Its stock has fallen from a 52-week high of 81 to around 20 today. Bauer financial gives it a 3-star rating out of 5. As with all banks, stay within FDIC limits to be sure your money is fully insured.
In a rather strange move, Emigrant Bank, the parent company of Emigrant Direct has launched another online direct brand, DollarSavingsDirect. DollarSavings differs slightly from Emigrant Direct and currently has a higher rate.
In a rather strange move, Emigrant Bank, the parent company of Emigrant Direct has launched another online direct brand, DollarSavingsDirect. DollarSavings differs slightly from Emigrant Direct and currently has a higher savings rate of 3.75% APY, which is competitive with some of the best savings rates offered by other banks. The minimum balance to open the account is $1,000. Emigrant Direct's American Dream Savings Account offers a 3% APY with a $1 minimum balance. At the moment, the difference in rate and minimum balance seem to be all that seperates the two accounts.
The bank is a seperate division of Emigrant Bank although located at the same location as Emigrant Direct. Its FDIC insurance falls under Emigrant Bank, meaning that an account at Emigrant Direct and DollarSavingsDirect both count towards the FDIC limit.
Accounts can be opened online and funded via an ACH transfer from a personal checking account.
Why has Emigrant Direct started a seperate brand? We called Emigrant with this question but didn't receive a reply. My guess is that Emigrant plans to make significant changes to either Emigrant Direct or DollarSavingsDirect over the next couple of months to differentiate their offer and pursue different markets. It will be interesting to see how this develops.
Goldwater Bank, a new, small bank out of Scottsdale, Arizona is offering a very competitive 4% savings account.
Goldwater Bank, a small bank operating out of Scottsdale, Arizona is offering a very competitive 4% APY savings account. The minimum opening deposit is $1,500 and to get the listed rate you must keep at least $100 in the bank.
A customer service representative (CSR) stated that the rate was good until the end of the year although I'd verify this when opening an account (there's no discussion of this on the website).
The bank opened in 2007 and now has 14 employees and $29.8 million in deposits. It's too new to have a Bauer rating but it is FDIC insured (FDIC Certificate # 58405).
Acccount Opening
Once you fill in the online form, they'll mail you a signature card. You can mail a check with the signature card or do a wire transfer. They do not accept ACH transfers. Wire transfers are free.
Withdrawals
They only allow 6 withdrawals per quarter versus the usual six per month. There is a $20 fee for an outgoing wire transfer but it's free to request a cashier's check.
Interest Payments
They pay interest quarterly. If you withdraw money before the quarterly interest is paid, you lost all of the money accrued during the quarter,
How Does it Compare?
The Goldwater's 4% APY rate is tied withfor second according to the BestCashCow rate table with Amtrust Direct's e-Savings Account. Amtrust offers a smoother account opening process and has a $1 minimum balance. The rate is also below Everbank's 4.76% APY 3 month promo rate. Still, this is a very competitive rate.
