It was another brutal week for U.S. banks, as the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. closed down five more financial institutions, bringing the grand total for 2009 to 45 shuttered banks. The FDIC was unable to find a buyer for one of the banks, Community West Bank of Georgia. That’s bad news for bank customers with assets over the FDIC insurance line – the FDIC won’t cover those assets.
Even so, there are plenty of banks remaining – and plenty of great rate deals to be had.
CDs

If you’ve got $1,000 lying about and want a good deal on a CD rates, give Florida-based TotalBank a look.

For 7-, 11-, and 13-month TotalBank CD’s, new account subscribers can earn a 2.25% rate. That’s almost twice the average rate on BankingMyWay’s weekly CD rate tracker.

TotalBank is also offering a 2.55% deal on CD rates from three months to one-year. Once again, the minimum deposit is $1,000. Be aware that TotalBank may use a hard credit pull for opening an account, and that the rates won’t lock in until the bank receives funds from you.

The good news is that, unlike many bank CD deals these days, you don’t have to be a local – TotalBank is offering the CD rate deals to new customers across the country.

Money Markets

Money market rates, on average, are averaging an anemic 0.46%, according to the BankingMyWay rate tracker.

But for the diligent and dedicated money market shopper, rates or over 2% can be had.

Take the Seacoast Commerce Bank money market account, now offering a 2.05% interest rate. The California-based bank does throw some high hurdles to the 2.05% rate – you need a $25,000 minimum to earn the rate. Anything under that and the rate drops to 1.00%

It doesn’t appear you can simply open an account online and be done with it. This from the banks’ web site: “Customers applying for a new account can complete and print a new account application and mail it in with their opening deposit. You may also open a new deposit account by calling us at 619-476-7776 and speaking with a New Account Representative. Personal Bankers are available Monday-Friday 8:30am to 5:00pm PST to assist you.”

But if you have the $25,000, and want to lock in a good, safe rate, somewhere beyond the Seacoast looks like a decent place to be.

Savings Accounts

At the bottom of the bank interest rate pyramid is the savings account, barely drawing breath at an average rate of 0.23%, according to the BankingMyWay weekly average savings account rate.

Some major banks – hello, Bank of America: Stock Quote: BOA and, you too, Citibank: Stock Quote: C, are even offering bank deposit rates of 0.1%

But some banks, especially smaller ones, are still aggressively competing on bank savings account rates.

Out in California, Beach Business Bank is coming out this week (on Wednesday, July 1) with a new savings account deal that pays a 2.50% APY (for accounts of $10,000-and-up), and a 1% APY for accounts under the $10,000 mark.

The deal seems like a good one. There are no monthly fees, and it’s available to anyone in the U.S. – you can open a deposit via snail mail, although it’s a good idea to check with the bank first to see if they have other account opening alternatives.

— For more ways to save, spend, invest and borrow, visit MainStreet.com.