3.70% 3-Month / 3.70% 6-Month CD at Crestmark Bank

Crestmark Bank is offering a 3.70% interest rate on all of its short-term CDs with terms from 30 days to 12 months. The longer term rates are not quite as competitive. They're only 3.45% for terms of 18 months to 5 years. The minimum deposit is $25,000, and the maximum is $200,000. They do not compound interest so the APY and APR are equivalent.

It has been awhile since my last report on Crestmark Bank back in September 2006. When I contacted Crestmark in 2006, I was told that the CDs can be opened by mail. They haven't changed much in the last two years. Their CD application is still in Excel format.

Crestmark often goes through periods in which it stops offering CDs. When you see the rate page with rates of 0%, I was told this meant that they were not accepting new funds. Hopefully, these latest rates will last for awhile.

The bank is based in Troy, Michigan. It has been FDIC insured since 1996 (FDIC Certificate # 34353). Bankrate gives Crestmark a rating of 4 stars (sound) as of 12/31/07.

Best CD Rates

For terms under 9 months, it's hard to get anything over 3.70%. The highest 6 month CD rate at a FDIC-insured bank on my national CD list is 3.70% APY (3.65% rate) at Corus Bank. For 3-month terms, the highest on my list is 3.35% APY at GMAC Bank.