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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.]
5.50% 3-Month CD at Countrywide Bank
Countrywide Bank has a new 3-month, 5.50% APY CD for CDs opening in Illinois financial centers. This CD requires a $10,000 minimum, and the rate is only available through tomorrow (December 13th). This rate isn’t shown on Countrywide’s website — which shows a lower rate — but you can see it here through about November 28th.
Countrywide has 13 financial centers in the Chicago area, located in Chicago, Crystal Lake, Elmhurst, Glenview, Highland Park, Joliet, Libertyville, Naperville, Oak Lawn, Orland Park, Plainfield, Schaumburg, and Wheaton.
5.38% Money Market at MECU
MECU, Motorola’s credit union, has a great deal on money markets right now if you have a lot of money to invest. They’re offering a 5.38% APY on a minimum of $100,000 in their normal money market, as well as their IRA money market and Health Savings Account money market. If the deposit goes below $100,000, the rate drops significantly to 4.64% APY. (In that case, you might do better with Countrywide’s SavingsLink savings account, currently earning 5.30% APY.)
MECU is open to employees, retirees, and contract employees of Motorola, Inc. and its subsidiaries, and anyone related to these individuals or related to current MECU members by blood or marriage, including domestic partners. MECU has 12 branches, including seven in Chicago’s northern suburbs: Three in Schaumburg, two in Arlington Heights, and one each in Deer Park and Libertyville.
Update on Countrywide’s 6-month CD
Last week, as we posted, Countrywide Bank had a special 6-month, 5.45% APY CD for CDs opening in Illinois financial centers. They are still having a 6-month special CD for Illinois, but unfortunately that rate has dropped to 5.35%. In today’s dropping CD-rate environment, that’s not surprising, but it is still one of the best CD deals available in the Chicago area right now. As mentioned before, this CD requires a $10,000 minimum, and the rate is only available through November 29th. This rate isn’t shown on Countrywide’s website — which shows a rate 5 basis points lower — but you can see it elsewhere online through about November 28th.
Countrywide has 13 financial centers in the Chicago area, located in Chicago, Crystal Lake, Elmhurst, Glenview, Highland Park, Joliet, Libertyville, Naperville, Oak Lawn, Orland Park, Plainfield, Schaumburg, and Wheaton.
5.45% 6-month CD at Countrywide Bank
Although it’s a national financial institution, Countrywide Bank is offering a special CD rate to Illinois customers only: A 6-month CD that earns 5.45% APY. This CD must be opened in a Illinois financial center; if opened online instead, the rate is a still-competitive 5.40% APY. This CD requires a $10,000 minimum, and the rate is only available through November 15th (tomorrow). This rate isn’t shown on Countrywide’s website, but you can see it online here through November 17th.
Countrywide has 13 financial centers in the Chicago area: In Chicago, Crystal Lake, Elmhurst, Glenview, Highland Park, Joliet, Libertyville, Naperville, Oak Lawn, Orland Park, Plainfield, Schaumburg, and Wheaton.
5.65% 12-Month CD/5.50% Savings Account at Countrywide Bank
Countrywide Bank has two great offers going on right now, probably in response to the concerns about their viability. (More about that later in this post.) The first: Countrywide is offering a 5.65% 12-month CD with a minimum of $10,000, or $2500 for IRA CDs. There’s no catch to the rate, other than the normal penalty for early withdrawal and that the rate may not last long.
The second: In their online savings accounts, Countrywide is offering a 5.50% APY on balances above $10,000. No restrictions on this deal, either, other than its unknown how long Countrywide will keep this account at 5.50% (since it’s a savings account rather than a CD).
As many of you probably know, Countrywide tapped into its line of credit recently, and that’s caused some concern about Countrywide’s future. Countrywide is FDIC insured, however, so as long as you don’t have more than $100,000 with them (or $200,000 for a couple), you would get back all principal and interest if they were to go under. Countrywide has been putting full-page ads in newspapers about their recent problems. Here’s part of it: “In light of recent media attention, we’d like to offer some reassuring facts. Countrywide Bank, FSB is a well capitalized federal savings bank with more than $100 billion in assets that offers depository products that are FDIC insured. The highly publicized issues related to the mortgage market do not impact the safety of FDIC-insured deposits at Countrywide Bank. The three major credit agencies give us investment grade ratings. Our trained experts help customers with their accounts to maximize the FDIC protection available to them….” For what that’s worth.
