By Brian O’Connell
With the average bank savings account rate dwindling to 0.26%, who could blame bank depositors for hunting for a better deal?

Facts are facts, and the data clearly shows that with a little pluck and a good savings rate database, finding bank savings rates with significantly higher yields requires no heavy lifting.

Take the latest offer from HSBC (Stock Quote: HBC) Direct on its online savings account. For new depositors, HSBC is offering a 2.45% APY with no minimum amount required. The deal is also free of any monthly fees, and the HSBC online account can be linked to any brick-and-mortar bank checking account. You don’t even need to open an HSBC checking account to cash in on the high yield.

There are even higher bank savings account yields out there. Darby Direct has an interesting offer – a 3.0% APY on its online savings account.  Like the HSBC deal, Darby’s offer is a variable rate that requires no minimum balances; no monthly fees, and complete FDIC insurance up to $250,000. A potential downside though is that Darby last flipped its savings account rates in November, 2008. So there’s no guarantee that it won’t do so again.

If you want the stability of a bank savings account that has award-winning cachet and gets you close to that 2.0% APY category, try FNBO Direct. Its current online savings account offers 1.90% APY, with no monthly fees, no minimum balances, and “no strings attached”. FNBO Direct was recently tapped as the “best online savings account” by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine.

With bigger national online banks like ING Direct (Stock Quote: ING) and E-Trade (Stock Quote: ETFC) capping their savings account rates below 2.0%, deals like the ones HSBC, FNBO and Darby Direct are offering look fairly appealing in comparison.

To find the best savings account deals in your neck of the woods, check out BankingMyWay.com for the latest Savings Account Rates.

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