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[Please note: This page is part of the Chicago CD Rates archive. Most of these deals on this page are not current and no longer available. Please check the date of the post before getting too excited and driving to a bank an hour away. If you have any doubts whether the deal is available, contact the bank or credit union. For a list of more current rates, visit our homepage.]
CDs up to 4.50% at Countrywide Bank
Countrywide Bank, which historically has generally kept its best CD rates at 12 months and under, now has some very good rates at terms up to 5 years:
- 1-year CD at 4.10% APY
- 2-year CD at 4.25% APY
- 3-, 4-, and 5-year CDs at 4.50% APY
These CDs all have $10,000 minimums and can be opened either online or at a Countrywide Financial Center. The rates will be available through May 1st.
Countrywide has 14 financial centers in Chicagoland, located in Chicago, Crystal Lake, Elgin, Elmhurst, Glenview, Highland Park, Joliet, Libertyville, Naperville, Oak Lawn, Orland Park, Plainfield, Schaumburg, and Wheaton.
Bump-Up CDs up to 4.50% at M&I Bank
M&I Bank has three good bump-up CDs available right now, all with a minimum of $2500:
- 20-month bump-up CD at 3.50% APY
- 40-month bump-up CD at 4.00% APY
- 60-month bump-up CD at 4.50% APY
How the bump-up option works: “The Smart Saver CD allows you to make a one-time rate change after the account has been open for 6 months. When you make the rate change, you can also make an additional deposit to the CD.”
M&I has numerous locations in the Midwest (as well as some southern states) but only two in Illinois: One in Chicago and one in Belleville.
4.75% 5-year CD at Wachovia Bank
Wachovia Bank has one of the best long-term CDs we’ve seen recently: a 5-year CD earning 4.75% APY. The biggest hurdle to opening it: “A Wachovia checking account is required to open a Featured CD.” The CD also has a minimum of $5000.
A large national bank, Wachovia has eight branches in Illinois: One each in Elmhurst, Evanston, Glenview, Huntley, Niles, Palatine, Schaumburg, and Westchester.
Great post on I Bonds
Bank Deals Blog, probably the best site on the Internet for national CD rates, had a great post yesterday about I Bond rates. In short, the site theorizes that if you buy I Bonds before the end of this month and hold on to them for 12 months, you’ll have a government-secured 4.43% rate of return. There’s more than a few restrictions and hassles to this — such as a limit of $10,000 per person — but if you have any interest at all in I Bonds, you owe it to yourself to read the article.
CDs up to 5.00% at National City Bank
National City Bank has a couple very good CDs out there right now: A 2-year CD earning 4.25% APY, and a 4-year CD earning 5.00% APY. Both CDs require you to have an existing National City personal checking or savings account (except CDs and IRAs), or open a new personal checking account (except Free Checking) or a Money Market Savings account with $1,500. If you don’t meet that requirement, the CDs drop by 0.25%. Both CDs have a minimum of $10,000. National City also has a 12-month CD earning 3.50% APY with no checking/savings requirements and a minimum of $2500. All the above rates are expected to last through April 26th.
National City Bank has many locations throughout Chicagoland.
6-month 3.65% CD at Corus Bank
Given the continuing dropping of short-term CD rates, Corus Bank has a pretty good 6-month CD: 3.65% APY. Corus also has a 1-year CD earning 3.50% APY. Both CDs have $10,000 minimums.
Corus Bank has 11 branches, all in the Chicago area: Six in the city of Chicago, two in Calumet City, and one each in Niles, River Forest, and Wheeling.
4.00% 5-year CD at Liberty Bank
Liberty Bank has a pretty good long-term CD: a 5-year CD earning 4.00% APY. The CD has a minimum of $2500. The CD is not available as an IRA CD at that APY — for some reason Liberty’s 5-year IRA CD is only earning 3.25% APY.
Liberty Bank has five locations: Three in Chicago, one in Lincolnwood, and one in Park Ridge.
4.00% 2- to 5-year IRA CDs at Home State Bank
Home State Bank has a nice IRA deal for those trying to fund one before Tax Day: Their IRA CDs of 24, 30, 36, 48, and 60 months are all earning 4.00% APY. The IRA CDs have a minimum deposit of $4000. You must have a Home State Bank checking account (or open one) to be eligible for this deal. The offer isn’t mentioned on their website, but you can see an ad for it here through April 13th. The ad implies that the rate will last through April 15th, although it does say that the rate can change at any time.
Home State Bank has eight branches: Three in Crystal Lake, two in Lake of the Hills, two in McHenry, and one in Woodstock.
4-month, 3.75% CD at St. Charles Bank & Trust
St. Charles Bank & Trust has a good CD for investors looking for the very short term: a 4-month CD earning 3.75% APY. The minimum deposit is $5000. St. Charles B&T also has a 5-year CD earning 3.60% APY and a 4-year CD earning 3.40% APY, both with a $1000 minimum deposit.
St. Charles Bank & Trust has two locations: one in St. Charles and one in Geneva.
Bump-Up CDs up to 3.60% at Libertyville Bank & Trust (and its branches with other names)
For those of you who believe that rates will eventually be going up again, there may be a two good deals at Libertyville Bank & Trust: A 3-year bump-up CD at 3.40% APY, and a 5-year bump-up CD at 3.60% APY. After the first 12 months, you can lock in a new, higher rate on the CDs, and you can relock it every 12 months after any previous lock. To get these rates, you need to be a founders club member at Libertyville B&T (or one of their associated banks — more on that further down), or you need to open a checking account at the same time you open the CD. If you don’t open up the checking account, the rates drop by 0.25%. The CDs have a minimum of $1000.
Libertyville Bank & Trust has three branches named Libertyville Bank & Trust, all which are in Libertyville. However, it also has seven other branches that are named after the city the branch is located in:
- Gurnee Community Bank
- Island Lake Community Bank
- Lake Villa Community Bank
- Mundelein Community Bank
- Vernon Hills Bank & Trust (not yet opened)
- Wauconda Community Bank (two branches)
CDs up to 4.25% at Pan American Bank
Pan American Bank has a number of good-to-very-good CDs available right now:
- 5-year CDs earning 4.25% APY
- 2-year, 3-year, and 4-year CDs earning 3.80% APY
- 1-year CDs earning 3.50% APY
These CDs all have quite low minimums — only $500. Pan American also has a Statement Savings Account earning a decent 3.00% APY, although that account has a minimum of $5000.
Their website has some broken links, including the “About Us” page, but it seems as though they have two branches, both in Chicago: at 2627 West Cermak and 6232 North Pulaski.
4.20% 12-month CD at Countrywide
Good ol’ Countrywide Bank has consistently had among the best short-term CD rates for the entire time we’ve been running this blog. (Whether that will continue after they get eaten up by Bank of America is an interesting question.) And again, they have one of the few short-term CDs above 4% in Chicagoland: a 12-month CD earning 4.20% APY. As usual, this CD has a minimum of $10,000 (or $2500 for an IRA CD). And as usual, we want to remind you that since Countrywide is having financial problems, it’s prudent to keep your total deposits with them under FDIC insurance limits.
Countrywide has 14 financial centers in Chicagoland, located in Chicago, Crystal Lake, Elgin, Elmhurst, Glenview, Highland Park, Joliet, Libertyville, Naperville, Oak Lawn, Orland Park, Plainfield, Schaumburg, and Wheaton.
