First City Bank appears on a lot of BestCashCow's rate lists...but why is their Bauer Financial rating a disaster?
We've been talking about First City Bank for some time now--they've had some nice rates on the Best Cash Cow CD and Savings lists--but their clearest problem is their abysmal rating on Bauer Financial. Bauer rates them a zero star, their lowest possible rating, and ranks First City Bank on their "Troubled and Problematic" Report.
I personally spoke to First City Bank's President and Chief Operating Officer, Robert E. Bennett Jr, who was willing to give me a quote about First City's poor ratings:
"I don't care about Bauer's rating; it's based on several ratios. They've never been in our bank or spoken to our people and I assure my customers on a daily basis that First City is a safe bank to work with."
Bennett is clearly optimistic about the bank, despite the poor ratings and accompanying numbers. What exactly drives his thinking on this score is unclear--he wasn't terribly willing to elaborate. But looking at the financials suggested a picture: their noncurrent loans made up roughly 20% of their loan portfolio.
We all know that Florida's been taking the deflation of the housing bubble hard, and it's showing in bank loans. Assets past due have grown from 5 million to 19 million over the past year.
But First City isn't relying on brokered deposits to fund its balance sheet. Those decreased over the past year from $21 million to $5 million. What stepped in instead were transaction accounts, presumably, interest bearing checking accounts. A look at their website shows low rate checking accounts, so First City isn't paying big rates on this funding. CDs also went up, and while this requires more cash to service in the form of higher rates, it also guarantees most of the money will stay for the term of the CD.
They're getting great new sources of funding, but with that boat anchor called real estate lending around its neck they're in a world of hurt. Unless they can stop those loan portfolio losses, the FDIC will likely have to step in. Thankfully, First City is FDIC insured--depositors are covered up to $250,000 per person regardless of what happens.
It's not just an insurance company--they've also got some surprisingly good deals on CDs.
Allstate Bank (NYSE: ALL) is offering a huge array of CDs at decent rates.
Though none of them land on the BestCashCow CD Rates lists, they are still noteworthy in that they offer decent rates, low minimums (none of them require over a thousand dollars to start) and some unusual time lengths.
For instance, they offer a thirty day CD at .20 percent APY, which is a comparative rarity. Other more standard rates include a ninety day CD at .40 percent APY, a six month at .60 percent APY, one year at 1.10 percent APY, two year at 1.25 percent APY, three year at 1.60 percent APY, and five year at 2.30 percent APY.
You can get these by opening accounts with a "STAR" ATM, via ACH wire transfer, via direct deposit with Allstate Bank's routing number, contacting a local Allstate agent, going to www.allstatebank.com, or calling their toll free number on their website. Allstate Bank carries a "Good" three and a half star rating with Bauer Financial and is FDIC insured.
Savings and CD rate averages have held steady over the past two weeks although the top savings rate has dropped significantly. Two weeks ago the top savings rate was 1.75% APY and now the top rate is 1.55% APY.
Savings and CD rate averages have held steady over the past two weeks although the top savings rate has dropped significantly.
Savings Rates
Average rates dropped slightly from 1.34% APY to 1.31% APY. The top rate has come down significantly. Two weeks ago the top rate was 1.75% APY and now the top rate is 1.55% APY. One month ago, the top rate was 2% APY. So, in four weeks the top rate you could get on a savigns account has fallen significantly. For promotional rates, Everbank remains on top with their 3-month introductory bonus rate of 2.25% APY. After the three-month period, the rate drops down to 1.26% APY for a blended one year APY of 1.51% APY.
CD Rates
The average 1-year CD also remained steady at 1.57% APY for the fourth week in a row. First City Bank continues to hold the top spot with a 1.80% APY CD. First City Bank is in bad financial shape and has been operating under a FDIC Cease and Desist Order since 10/09. Acacia Federal Savings has moved into the second sport with a 1.65% APY CD.
The average 3-year CD rate is the only average to dropped slightly from 2.43% to 2.42% APY. The top spot continues to be occupied by USAA Federal Savings Bank, which offers a 2.65% APY CD with a minimum deposit of $175,000. The next highest rate is Acacia Federal Savings at 2.50% APY and a $500 minimum deposit.
The average 5-year CD rate remained steady this week at 3.12% APY after dropping from 3.17% APY four weeks ago. The average is now closing in on the 3% mark.
USAA continues to have the top rate at 3.31% APY. Everbank which holds the second highest rate dropped from 3.30% APY to 3.26% APY. A month ago Everbank was offering the same CD for 3.39% APY.
The spread between savings and 3-year CD rates dropped slightly and now stands at 1.11, from from a high of 1.24 in March. The ratio between 1-year CDs and 5-year CDs has remained steady over the past month and appears to have topped off. What does that mean? Both 1-year and 5-year CD rates have stopped dropping and are maintaining their relative ratios. The flat trends of the past month seem to support this conclusion. If the economy continues to improve I expect we'll see longer term CDs begin to move up first, followed by shorter maturities once the Fed looks poised to raise the Fed Funds Rate.
