Jumbo CD Investments - CD Rates Blog

Rates Have Been Coming Down

CD Rates on terms of 2-years or less have been trending down. For about a week after the last rate cut, there wasn’t much movement. However, as it looks like the Fed Funds will remain low for sometime and some have predicted it may even go to 0.5%, the CD Rates have been going down.

A couple of weeks ago we had a 1-year CD rate at 4.40% APY. Today the highest is 4.25%. On the 2-year, we had a 4.50% APY and today it is down to 4.45%. The 3-year and longer rates seem to be holding. The 3-year rate of 5.00% APY remains good as does the 5.25% at 5-years.

As we get closer to the next Fed Meeting, look for rates to come down further. The next meeting is December 16. As it is, the yield curve between the CD Rates and Fed Funds is quite steep.

cd :O)

Updated Historical CD Rates

I have updated our Historical CD Rates.

The data is now through 7/31/08. As everyone knows, rates tumbled starting in December 2007. With the continued weaknesses in banks and continuing mortgage problems, it is unlikely the Fed will be changing rates soon.

Naturally, since 2008 rates are lower, the average rates came down a bit as well, but not that much. Our rate information goes back to 1993.

One thing to note is our rate information is based on CDs that were actually invested into.

IndyMac Bank Closed

[Update 7/14/08 6:40 AM PST– It appears that IndyMac’s website is functioning now. The new name, IndyMac Federal Bank, FSB is noted at the bottom. The website has a link to the FDIC info about the failure. From what I can tell, the non-brokered funds have been transferred to the new bank and things will continue as normal, probably until the FDIC can find a buyer. The Brokered deposits will be returned probably in similar fashion to ANB. Hopefully, IndyMac has them classified correctly so that there aren’t similar delays though.]

I was reading the newspaper Saturday Evening and was shocked to see IndyMac was taken over by the FDIC late Friday. Depending how you do the math, this was the 2nd or 3rd largest closure in history. IndyMac was over $32B in assets. IndyMac saw a $1.3Billion dollar run on the bank eleven days prior to Friday. The FDIC was concerned they wouldn’t be able to meet demands. Much of this run stemmed from Senator Charles Schumer. Him and the OTS have traded back and forth barbs.

Of course none of that helps the employees or the depositors of IndyMac. Anyone holding $100,000 or less will receive their deposits fairly quickly. On Monday you can call the FDIC Call center at 866-806-5919. There where also probably be more info posted at IndyMac’s website, but at the moment it just has general info.

Here is the link fo info from the FDIC. Call us on Monday if we can be of any service.

Greystone Bank - Certificate of Deposit Rates

Updated: 6/17/08.? Greystone Bank was established on November 1, 2005.? They aren’t a large bank.? As of?March 08, assets were a little over $274MM.?? They do currently have an operating loss of $1.58MM.? They are considered well-capitalized.? FDIC# is 58094.

View their website, here.

Peer-to-Peer Lending

This is a sponsored article.? We’ve added a new section on our website about Peer-to-Peer lending.? I’m pretty excited about it.? Of course, I don’t want you to take all of your investable funds this route, but a properly managed portfolio can earn you some good returns.?

Peer-to-Peer lending basically cuts out the bank and you lend directly to the borrower.? For obvious reasons, it is also known as Person-to-Person lending.? Prosper is one of the premier services in this area.? Your funds aren’t insured like an FDIC insured CD, and you can lose principal, but Prosper goes along way to make sure you know the background of the borrower.?

Check out the new section, let me know what you think.? Peer-to-Peer Lending.

cd :O)