Agreed. Totally. My face is happy instead today because was able earlier this morning to accomplish a substantial funds injection into my PSECU CD which is earning 3.25% APY, a rate which is locked in for more than the next two years!
It was yet another one of those PSECU ASTs (automatic share transfers). The ASTs move funds out of the liquid funds realm and into the CD zone at a FAR higher rate of interest.
Was there a limit on how much you could add into those accts (maximum on balance of acct)?
At the time PSECU CDâs were offered, I remember rounding up all my available funds & opening a few of them. But, I should have checked into opening the AST CDâs. Would you say they would be comparable to an add-on CD?
Am unaware of any such limitation. Iâve been getting away with this since January. It just goes on and on.
It is a form of add-on CD only . . . a special form with its own rules and peculiarities . . . and not entirely straightforward, especially not when you are just starting out.
Where does one find the newly released data summary?
I recently contacted the president of a credit union where Iâm a member . . . which one really does not matter for purposes of this post. I asked him whether or not the CU allowed early, penalty free, withdrawals of CD funds. My question to him came about because nothing had been announced. I was just taking a shot on chance of success.
Answer came back from that president this morning. Regardless no announcement his credit union IS allowing members to break CDs without imposing an EWP. I was happy, and a mite surprised. Obviously, though, such a policy generally allows financial institutions to assist members in this pandemic while, in many instances, getting out from under high yielding certificates.
Suggestion here from me, if you need your CD funds regardless the reason, and if nothing has been announced, is to make inquiry. It canât hurt and you just might strike pay dirt, as I did.
Note: EWP stands for Early Withdrawal Penalty
Thanks, thatâs good to know.
But I guess this is on a case-by-case basis in response to the virus situation? I think at this point, it does not hurt the CU too much because CD rates have come down a lot. So a member breaking a CD is most likely breaking a CD with a much higher yield.
His response might be different if rates have gone up.
I definitely agree with you, scanchain. If CD rates go up all bets are off. Hence this reminder as an addition to my earlier post:
A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. 
Just a quick reminder for you PSECU mugglers out there; you people know who you are 
The PSECU annual meeting will be held this evening, commencing at 6:00 pm CT. Access is by telephone. Good luck to all.
Still if you wanted to move funds from a CD not close to maturity to one of these addons - say within the 30 day notice of closing the addon option -, thatâd be a good option to explore to avoid eating the EWP.
PSECU meeting
I âattendedâ the PSECU annual meeting yesterday evening while simultaneously preparing dinner. As others have indicated might happen, the meeting was very bland and lasted only about ten minutes. The follow-on question session was largely idiotic and unhelpful.
I didnât ask any questions because only too late did I learn questions needed to be submitted well in advance. This was my fault.
Pandemic impact at PSECU
As is customary the focus of this meeting was almost entirely on 2019 outcomes no longer germane or, frankly, of much interest at all. There was one, very brief, mention of the credit union doing OK at present. That was it.
New topic
Credit Union ratings updates
I have checked Ken and Bauer so far today. There is nothing. It is early. Perhaps we will have something later. I hope so.
I suspect we might have other Sharonview members here. Please be on notice:
The Sharonview annual meeting will take place on Thursday, July 23, 2020. Why important?
Weiss Research gives Sharonview a âCâ rating based entirely on their pre-pandemic financial performance data. Today, in the wake of the pandemic, things could be much worse. It might be best to remain informed on this one.
Youâre a little delusional if you think this annual meeting will be any different than the others youâve âattendedâ. 
Did you receive an e-mail from Sharonview? They said we could remove funds now without penalty.
Not interested⌠4% CD
Youâre right and I donât think that.
But I still will make an effort to take in the Sharonview meeting. You never know.
LOL so generous of them to offer this option on 4% CDs. 
You are correct, Shandril, of course. But my concern regarding Sharonview is off in a different direction:
I want for Sharonview, which must be burdened by having to pay such high interest on so many of those 4% CDs, to remain nevertheless viable and intact. I have money at Sharonview. I do not want that money back. Instead I want my 4% CD to run all the way to maturity.
Hence, and for that reason, the health of Sharonview as an institution is important to me. I do not take for granted, in the wake of this pandemic, that they will be OK. We must hope for the best.
I was a bit sarcastic but Iâm glad a lot of banks are waiving the EWP at times when some of their customers may be struggling financially. It helps them off-loading 4% CDs no doubt but it also helps their customers who would not break those 4% CDs if they did not need to do so.
But I get what youâre saying. Itâs a legit concern for a lot of banks/CUs where folks here have addons and high interest CDs. Last thing we want is for them to go under because it means lesser options for us. Iâm hopeful - maybe wishful thinking - for a lot of them though since very few have taken steps that would signal financial difficulties - like closing addon options.
But I appreciate your reporting on those annual meetings. Some may well be the canary in the coal mines that weâd rather know about sooner than later.
I need to ârevise and extendâ my remarks, above.
First, I was unable to see Weiss Ratings when I posted earlier today. Now I have access and I can report that Weiss, along with the other two ratings providers, continues to be using end of 2019 financial data at this hour. Obviously this is all but worthless.
Second, having just visited Weiss I need to amend what I wrote just above about their Sharonview rating. The current Weiss rating for Sharonview is C+, not C. Sorry about that. My error.
My earlier post regarding breaking a CD while avoiding the EWP, thanks to the pandemic, appears to have attracted a small amount of interest. I want to document an important consideration:
You need to inquire, should penalty free withdrawal permission be granted, whether or not a partial withdrawal is permitted . . . or not. In my experience, more often than not, it is âall or nothingâ. However:
Iâm just off the telephone with the financial institution I had contacted earlier this week. In a spate of good luck they tell me they will allow a partial penalty-free withdrawal from my CD there. That is pretty darn sweet. It was definitely worth asking.