Online Banks ready for Summer with New Deals and Rates

Online banks are ready for their summer promotional blitz by offering a wide variety of new online banking deals as well as higher rates on bank deposits. Consumers now have a variety of incentives to open new bank accounts including free cash, free airline miles, or even free iPods. In addition, with the prospect of [...]

Health Savings Accounts with over 5% Taxable Equivalent Yields

Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) are designed to help individuals enrolled in a HDHP (High Deductible Health Plan) save money for current and future health care expenses. Money can be set aside in a HSA pre-tax and the money is controlled by the account owner. While it is possible to invest the funds in mutual funds [...]

Bank of America’s Excellent Savings Program

Bank of America’s Keep the Change Promotion has been around since 2005, but is worth taking another look at especially after Bank of America has announced that over 8 million customers are enrolled in the program. The promotion allows customer enrolled to have every purchase made with a Bank of America Check Card to be [...]

Linking Your Online Checking Account to Your Online Savings Account

Bank make a huge amount of money from their customers who are forgetful and bounce checks. While overdrafts can happen innocently enough there are ways for online banking customers to protect themselves against overdrafts. The different options vary from expensive to cheap:
Overdraft Protection or Bounce-Coverage Plans
Bank that offer this plan will not return your overdrawn [...]

Social Lending Matches Lenders and Borrowers Online

Social lending sites have taken off in 2008 with Prosper, Zopa, and Lending Club already in operation and several new startups expected to be online by the end of the summer. Prosper is the highest profile peer-to-peer lending site in operation today and provides an online bidding system for borrowers to reduce their lending rates [...]

Online Financial Management

Online financial management has been taken to the next level by the online site Mint.com. Mint allows registered users to consolidate all their banking, credit card, brokerage, and mutual fund information on one platform with a wealth of management and comparision tools. Mint connects to over 5,000 US banks and credit unions, credit card, brokerage, [...]

HSBC Bank - Online Savings Account Available in Sterling, US dollars, or Euros

HSBC Bank is justified in it’s slogan as “The world’s local bank” because they have branches in countries around the world including England, Hong Kong, Mexico, France, Taiwan.

Customers of HSBC Bank US are insured by the FDIC, but customers of HSBC Banks in other countries are not subject to FDIC insurance. HSBC Bank has been [...]

Inflation-Protection Funds from Vanguard and Harbor Funds Aim to Keep Pace with Inflation

The US consumer has been hit in the pocketbook by sharp increases in food and energy prices causing concern over inflation in the economy. But, despite the continued run-up in commodity prices in oil, natural gas, corn, rice, and wheat, the general level of inflation in the US economy as reported has been moderate - [...]

EverBank 4.01% APY Checking Account

Electric Orange Checking Account from ING Direct: High Rates and Environment-Friendly

ING Direct is laying the claim to “America’s first paperless checking account”. The Electric Orange Checking account is environment-friendly by eliminating all checks and account statements but has also been widely acclaimed for their online banking platform and the exceptional rates paid on deposits. The tiered rates have been as high as 5.30% on checking [...]

Useful Resource from the FDIC: Bank Insurance Calculator

On May 9, 2008, ANB Financial, NA, Bentonville, Arkansas was closed by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) was named Receiver. All insured deposit accounts have been transferred to Pulaski Bank and Trust Company, Little Rock, Arkansas and will be available immediately. In nearly every [...]

Credit Card Rate Deal from Advanta Bank

Best Bank Money Market Rates vs Money Fund Yields

A quick look at the top yielding bank money market account rates in comparision to some of the money fund yields offered by the nation’s largest mutual fund companies indicates that bank money market account yields are siginificantly higher. Bank money market accounts and mutual fund company money markets (money funds) both offer accountholders the [...]

New Rates on Savings Bonds

Investors who purchased the Series I Savings Bonds a few years ago are just now realizing some good returns as their fixed-rate portion (as high as 3.60%) is combined with a current inflation-adjusted rate of 4.84%. If inflation continues in the economy Series I Savings Bond holders continue to benefit. However, a purchaser of the [...]

Savings News: E*Trade Bank Increases Rate, Money-Rates.com Posting over 30 Banks with +3% Savings Yields

Effective this Thursday (May 8, 2008) E*Trade Bank will increase their savings rate from 3.01% to 3.05%. Seemingly not a big news item, but coming less than a week after the Federal Reserve lowered short-term interest rates this is another indication that the top-tier savings rates offered by online banks on savings accounts, money market [...]

Bank Lending Tightens Further According to Fed Survey

The quarterly survey of senior loan officers conducted by the Federal Reserve has been released with a common theme of tightening standards by US banks. The survey revealed that:
62% of banks tightened standards on prime mortgages49% of banks reduced demand for mortgages78% of banks tighted standards on subprime mortgages of the 17% of banks that [...]

First National Bank of St. Louis

First National Bank of St. Louis Free Interest Checking
4.25% APY on balances up to $25,0000.50% APY on balances over $25,000
Requirements:
15 CheckPlus debit card transactions per monthAt least one ACH direct deposit per monthReceive electronic statements
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Southeast National Bank

Southeast National Bank Free Reward Checking
6.01% APY on balances up to $25,0001.01% APY on balances over $25,0000.25% APY if requirements are not met
Requirements:
10 debit card transactions (excluding ATM Transactions) per monthAt least one direct deposit or ACH auto debit per monthReceive electronic statements
Account Features:
No minimum balance requiredNo monthly service feeUnlimited check writing
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Arizona Bank and Trust

Arizona Bank & Trust Rewards Checking Account
6.01% APY on balances up to $20,0001.51% APY on balances over $20,0000.25% APY when requirements are not met
Requirements:
12 signature-based debit card transactions per monthAt least one direct deposit or auto-payment per monthReceive monthly statements via e-mail
Account Features:
Free Online BankingFree Bill PayNo Minimum Balance RequirementNo Monthly FeesATM Fees are automatically [...]

TD Banknorth

TD Banknorth Free Checking Account
Free iPod for new accounts
Requirements:
Direct deposit linked to checking account
Account Features:
Free Visa debit cardFree online bankingFree BillPay
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