Highest Interest Rates as of
May 3, 2008
1. Banks with Highest Interest Rates and with NO Bank Fees and No or Negligible Minimum Deposits:
3.31% - WTDirect
There is a minimum balance of $10,000 for this rate. Fast account opening dialogue and, with the required info at hand, one can enroll in fewer than 5 minutes. In addition, WTDirect offers the ability to transfer funds between multiple financial institutions (as with HSBC).
3.25% - E*Trade Bank
https://us.etrade.com/e/t/pricingandrates/bankrates
This rate is for the Max Rate Checking option at E Trade Bank. It is FDIC insured and has no minimum balance for this interest rate to apply.
3.05% - HSBC Direct
HSBC impresses with the sophistication of its on-line banking software. Included is a nifty, free account-to-account transfer feature. It enables transfers from bank to bank and from bank to brokerage. It isn't easy to find similar transfer functionality elsewhere. My one negative is that funds transfers take too long. Whereas a MoneyLine transfer at Fidelity Investments can be complete within 1 or 2 days, expect more like 4 days with HSBC Direct. Too long for a simple funds transfer.
3.00% -
ING DIRECT
ING Direct has a top-notch interface.
3.01% - E-Loan
There is a minimum opening balance of $5,000 for this rate.
2.75% - Emigrant Direct
https://www.emigrantdirect.com/EmigrantDirectWeb/index.jsp
Early on, the folks at Emigrant Direct would send a white baseball cap to new account holders. Not sure if that still happens, but this is an interesting bank. Almost more brick and mortar than an internet bank in terms of account creation. Even so, Emigrant Direct is still among the interest rate leaders for online bank accounts.
2.02% -
VirtualBank
This rate is for less than $10,000. The rate increases for larger balances.
2. Highest Interest Rates where Fees and Minimum Deposits Apply
We have stopped tracking banks with high rates but that charge fees for low minimum balances. What is the point?
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