Financial Fellow

Written by J.P. Wicklein
     Dime Bank recently announced $300 in bonuses for new checking account customers.  I’ve seen checking account incentives up to $100 before, but never anything this high.  Dime Bank has put several conditions in place to receive the full bonus.  Here are the details: 
·         New Dime Bank customers that open a [...]

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Written by J.P. Wicklein

Presently, only a couple banks offer a savings account with an annual yield of at least 2%. Several other banks offer an APY of at least 1.75%. In addition to their online savings account rate of 1.70%, Ally Bank offers a No Penalty CD with a slightly higher yield – 1.85%.

* Note: Minimum opening balance required to receive APY.

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Written by J.P. Wicklein
     Bank of America is offering up to $100 to new checking account customers and $25 to existing checking account customers. 
$75 promo for new customers
     New Bank of America checking account customers are eligible for a $75 bonus.  Here’s how to qualify:
·         Be a new Bank of America customer - defined [...]

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Written by J.P. Wicklein

Over the last few weeks top interest rates have dropped. The largest dip came from Ally Bank (formerly GMAC bank) – a quarter point decline to 2.00%. Overall, the best online savings rates remain in the 1.5% - 2.0% range.

* Note: Minimum opening balance required to receive APY.

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Written by J.P. Wicklein

ING Direct is offering a $50 bonus for new Electric Orange online checking account customers. Here are the details of their promotion:

· The online checking account must be opened by June 30, 2009.

· You’re required to make 3 debit card signature transactions within 45 days of opening your account. (When making a purchase hit the “credit” button, instead of the “debit” button, so you produce a receipt that needs to be signed.)

· On the 50^th day after your account is opened ING Direct will deposit $50.

· To receive the promotion you must enter the promo code EM282 during the signup process. You can sign up here or by clicking on the ING logo above.

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Written by J.P. Wicklein

     Ally Bank (formerly GMAC bank) recently launched a 9-month CD with an APY of 2.50%. Two and a half percent on a 9 month CD is one of the best rates you’ll find. The kicker is that the Ally CD is penalty-free. Ally (short for Allied) Bank will not charge you any fees for withdrawing the funds early. The lack of an early withdrawal penalty makes the CD the same as an online savings account - with a 2.50% APY. You’d be hard pressed to find an online savings account that offers an APY greater than 2.50%. Here are the details on Ally Bank’s offer:

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   Written by J.P. Wicklein

     I came across a pretty good piece from the CBS evening news that explains the financial relationship between the U.S. and China - and how they’re kicking our butt.

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Written by J.P. Wicklein

     Last week I wrote an article comparing high interest online savings banks.  Since then, a few online banks dropped their interest rates (see table).  Falling interest rates are nothing new. The interest rate on my ING Direct savings account has been on a steady decline for the last 2+ years. It’s gone from an APY of 4.50% all the way down to 1.85%. The last two months alone have seen the APY drop almost 1.00% over the course of four rate adjustments.

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Written by J.P. Wicklein

     Several years ago I decided to shift my savings account from my local, brick-and-mortar bank to an online bank. I did so to take advantage of the higher interest rates paid by online banks. Since they don’t have the overhead associated with their brink-and-mortar competitors, many online banks will offer customers a higher interest rate. Here’s a closer look at the three, major online banks:

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…………………….Photo by zieak……………..…………………….Written by J.P. Wicklein

…..Recently I came across an article on The LRC Blog that provided a list of U.S. Banks that are near collapse. The article lists over 8,000 U.S. Banks along with their Texas Ratio (a measure of a bank’s credit problems). In short, the higher a bank’s Texas Ratio the worse their credit troubles. One could infer that banks with more severe credit problems are more vulnerable to collapse.

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