CD Discussion Thread

So is it “a bird in the hand” option?

I think worst case, it’ll mirror the prevailing interest rates for the 30 month term.

Got it now!! Keesler 30-mo CD 2.14%.

I have some funds to invest and I am thinking of locking the funds into a 3-yr investment. However, the current CD rates look dismal.The Keesler 30mo CD @2.14% looks a little interesting but I don’t meet the membership requirement.

I am now seriously considering putting the money into an Oceanview 3yr MYGA @ 3.0% instead. This insurer is rated AM Best A-. Cons of the MYGA include prohibitive early withdrawal penalty and no FDIC/NCUA guaranty. Nevertheless, the amount I am putting in would be covered by my state insurance guaranty fund (less secure than FDIC/NCUA, I know).

Thoughts?

Famewolf has an excellent thread where he covers safe alternatives to CDs very well indeed.

Regarding the CD portion of your post:

I understand what you’re saying about Keesler and the problematic aspect of joining. My suggestion:

At least give them a call. It’s free to do so. Their eligibility rules seemingly change in a whimsical manner. It’s like the proverbial “box of chocolates”. You never know for certain what you’re gonna get . . . until you call.

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What are the “state insurance guaranty fund” limits and how does one find out if their state has it?

Read the “Who can join” section of Keesler’s site…

I replied to you in your “safe alternatives to CD thread”.

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I’m looking back at my membership app, just wondering why you don’t meet requirements. I joined the ACS CAN, Cancer Action Network, nonpartisan affiliate of American Cancer Society, $10. I joined 8/16/19, give it a try.

Worked for me… :relaxed:

Thanks, but no longer. Keesler has added the requirement that if you join through ACS CAN, you need to be a AL, LA or MS resident.

Does DepositAccounts update the health ratings quickly after the new numbers are reported?

Thank you for raising this matter. It is, to me anyway, by FAR the most salient one at this time for CD fans.

That said, I do not have a good answer for you . . . not to your specific question, anyway. Can say this:

I am watching this situation like the proverbial hawk. I anticipate release of new ratings before Independence Day, I hope prior to month’s end.

I monitor both Weiss and also the ratings on Ken’s website. Both continue to publish only worthless ratings based on end of 2019 numbers.

The fact the NCUA offered a one month pass to member institutions, as regards financial data submissions, is a matter of serious concern to me as a CD account holder. I am hoping against hope they do not pull that same stunt at the end of this month, as they did at the end of March.

While the numbers, and the resultant ratings which will become known shortly, are important, the REAL NEWS will not be visible until we are able to view ratings based on (what should be) end of June data. This is because only that data will fully reflect pandemic impact to all of our financial institutions.

And of course it is the pandemic which is the issue here. It is the driving force behind our need to know updated ratings. Were it not for the pandemic I would not even be thinking about ratings. Heck, in the absence of this pandemic even GTE Financial would probably be viable!! :grinning:

ETA

This is somewhat “in the weeds” or “under the radar”. Gonna post it anyway:

An unknown for me - I do not possess an answer to this issue - is as follows:

Under normal circumstances the “end of March” data submissions by CUs and banks reflect their financial outcomes for the entirety of the first quarter.

All right. So now we know the NCUA and FDIC, because of the pandemic, have granted financial institutions an extra month. But I don’t know:

After that extra month has elapsed and numbers are finally submitted, do those numbers still reflect only the first quarter’s outcomes, or will we get to see numbers which also reflect April? Why important:

Because pandemic impact during just the first quarter was minimal, limited perhaps only to the final two weeks of March. But if April results are included we will be getting a much more open-eyed look at that impact, since April was a pandemic month big time.

Again, I dunno what we will get. Time will tell, I guess.

Would anyone pls share experience with fees &timing in &out for ach transfers initiated at gte with respect to in & out at external banks? Any days of lost or double interest? Am I correct there is a daily limit of $5000? Any way to request this to be increased?

Do your ach from your external bank. Ally in most cases is next business day and it’s how i moved money to them to add to my existing 3.5% cd. Ally limits to 150,000 out a day. The into Ally amount is much higher.

When I’ve moved money from Ally to another external account, it reports it as “personal” at the receiving bank (Key Bank). Not sure if this is something that happens often.

thx, the only banks I have that I do not lose interest on xfrs out is allamerica & alliant cu. Ally bank for me is always several days lost interest. I was hoping some one had tried gte pulling in

psted on [Expired] [FL only] GTE Financial $200 Checking Bonus - Doctor Of Credit
There is a limit of 5 external accounts linked and they charge $2 per transfer.
It lead me to read on https://www.depositaccounts.com/banks/reviews/gte-cu.html#68349
Nov 4, 2019
“Impossible to access your $ without paying a fee. $2 ACH transfer fee. $3 shared branch fee. $6 mailed check fee.” but “…no fee if you pull using external FI…”

Is this still true to anyone’s knowledge. I am writing to GTE but am not getting useful answers.

What is the distinction of having it identified as “personal” or not?

No go on that box of chocolates. LOL.

I plan to start the MYGA process for the 3yr MYGA @ 3% with an AM Best A- insurer. The investment amount would be less than my state insurance guaranty limit.

The current best 3yr CD I can get is around 1.7% so compared to 3%, there is a difference of 130 bps. This is huge so I think it is worth my hassle / risk. From the limited historical data I can find, I think this difference was only around 50 bps last year.

Sorry it did not work out for your. Nothing ventured, nothing gained however.

I recommended a few hundred posts up thread that Keesler was one of those “gotta join” credit unions. I joined back then and never opened a single CD there . . . but have absolutely no remorse whatsoever.

I dunno what it is going on down in those parts, as I am over a thousand miles away from there. But CDs there seem to pay higher interest. It’s even better over in Louisiana. A regret I have is failure to pursue possible CD opportunities there back when they existed. I’ll cite my age as my excuse . . . because that is the only excuse I have . . . . well, OK . . . . I also do not speak much French. :grinning:

Yeah, I remember those posts, which were just before the PSECU deal. I was just starting out with CDs at that time, and I went with PSECU and did not investigate Keesler further. One reason was that I found the staggered APY for those Keesler CDs weird.
The posts on DA suggest that Keesler has been constantly changed their field of membership, so there is a chance they may open up membership again.