Washington Mutual (WaMu) Raises Online Savings Rate to 4% APY

Update: September 26, 2008

Last night we learned that Washington Mutual (WaMu) was seized by regulators and then its deposit and loan business sold to JP Morgan Chase for $1.9 billion. Long term, the WaMu brand will disappear and all deposits in WaMu will be converted to Chase. Thus, if you are a WaMu account holder you will become a Chase customer. From a customer standpoint, this will look like a bank acquisition.

WaMu is open for business and is still offering some of the best rates in the country. A call to the bank verified that it is still offering its 4% APY savings account and a 5% APY 1-year CD. The 4% savings account is the top savings account rate in the country while the 1-year CD rate is also the best rate according to the BestCashCow rate table. As an added bonus, there is no minimum balance and you now get the security of Chase backing up your deposit.

To receive the high savings rate, you must open a checking account with the savings account. The checking account also doesn't have a minimum balance and is free. Both accounts can be opened together online. WaMu has received high marks for the ease of its account opening process.

>> Learn more about WaMu's 4% Savings Account here.

To see how this rate compares to other high yield savings accounts, please visit the BestCashCow.com savings and money market rate tables.