Wilshire State Bank Installment Savings 4.34% APY, no withdrawal penalty, $100k max

https://www.wilshirebank.com/public/personal_rainbow.asp

36 Month Rate:
5.12% APY with auto transfer from linked Wilshire account
4.86% APY without auto transfer

Interest rate guaranteed as long as you keep making your installment contribution.
Interest posted quarterly
No Early Withdrawal Penalty (forfeit interest earned since last quarterly payment)
FDIC insured

Target: $1k - $100k (>$20k may require phone call or branch visit)
Hard pull: No (Chexsystems)
$10 fee for each deposit over 3 in one quarter

I've gained so much from FWF, I'm glad I could finally post a deal.

EDIT: Rate Update 6/8/09: 4.34%

Looks like "installment savings" is the next small bank gimmick after Rewards Checking

elektronic said: I didn't do the math yet to see if the interest is posted every month or only at the end of the term.That seems like a very important aspect, considering it also says on their site that "If you close account before interest is credited, you will not receive the accrued interest."
But otherwise I find this a very appealing offer...

pattyb53 said: Looks like a person can only save a maximum $20K with this savings account!!
Excellent APY 5.12%, but how do you save more than $20K?
Installment Savings could be ok, but not worth it for only $20K..

Might be possible to double it with the spouse having separate accounts??

too good to be true...?

Whoops, looks like this one is saying "fixed" interest rate.

That makes it better, but I'm still not ready to jump yet.

Well, I can't claim to know what their intentions are, but they're clearly paying way above market rate and I don't see how it would be sustainable. I was recently burned by chasing a high yield only to see it dropped WEEKLY! Beware the Bait and Switch!

internetle said: Good saving account, 5.1% fixed for three years, guaranteed, what else can you ask for. Any saving or MM or CD out there that can do better? I don't see it. Make sure the money is not needed within the next three years. I'm in for one, .

Depending on your economic views, 5% interest 3 years from now might not be such a good rate, and then you face the dilemma of continuing to pump money into an under-market rate, or forfeiting anything you have earned up to that point.

Rewards checking is a lot more flexible and liquid, and IMHO, worth the minor hassles.

sethdallob said: internetle said: Good saving account, 5.1% fixed for three years, guaranteed, what else can you ask for. Any saving or MM or CD out there that can do better? I don't see it. Make sure the money is not needed within the next three years. I'm in for one, .

Depending on your economic views, 5% interest 3 years from now might not be such a good rate, and then you face the dilemma of continuing to pump money into an under-market rate, or forfeiting anything you have earned up to that point.

Rewards checking is a lot more flexible and liquid, and IMHO, worth the minor hassles.
Their 12 month APY is 4.6%. Not bad (better than most rewards checking which are getting to the 4% level) and does not lock you for the long term.

isobro said: » A $10.00 fee will be applied for every deposit in excess of three (3) within a quarterly cycle.

Check here for better deals: http://www.highyieldcheckingdeals.com/

This really bothers me, what does it means? You can not do more than 3 extra deposits into this account per quarter.

internetle said: isobro said: » A $10.00 fee will be applied for every deposit in excess of three (3) within a quarterly cycle.

Check here for better deals: http://www.highyieldcheckingdeals.com/

This really bothers me, what does it means? You can not do more than 3 extra deposits into this account per quarter.

What's to get? You can make three deposit per quarter, aka one deposit per month... aka the one set deposit that need to make to qualify anyway.

The point of the program is to get you to make regular and set contribution to the account from their checking account. They don't want you making extra payments.

VerbalK said: They can pay high rates because there is a very high likely hood that people will essentially "default" by missing a deposit The higher rates require you to have a "WSB deposit account" with automatic transfer, so I don't think missing a deposit is an issue (for the higher rates). I wonder how large that account needs to be, what the conditions/fees are regarding it and how large the transfers must be. Assuming there's no issue there, the 2yr at 4.86% APY seems like the sweet spot to me. This seems like it would be a lot less hassle than high yield checking account promotions (which have similar principle limits) and is a far better rate than CDs are offering. Rates would have to jump soon for this to turn out to not be a good deal.

These installment savings accounts are good for putting away a portion of a paycheck but not very conducive to rolling over existing CD's, AOR money, etc. since their foundation is built upon monthly payments. Consequently, they're a horrible deal for anyone who loses their job. I wonder if that's why banks are rolling them out now, when there's currently a higher probability that folks will run into a rough patch and will be missing their monthly payments at some time in the future.

mttatkns said: These installment savings accounts are good for putting away a portion of a paycheck but not very conducive to rolling over existing CD's, AOR money, etc. since their foundation is built upon monthly payments. Consequently, they're a horrible deal for anyone who loses their job. I wonder if that's why banks are rolling them out now, when there's currently a higher probability that folks will run into a rough patch and will be missing their monthly payments at some time in the future. What's the minimum payment? If it's a dollar that shouldn't be too hard to come by, even when unemployed. And if it is, you probably have bigger problems than losing interest.

This is the information I’ve gathered from the phone conversation I just had with a CSR:

- These types of accounts are nothing new and are commonplace at Korean banks.
- All terms are still available.
- Can be opened in-branch.
- Maximum amount is 100K - the monthly payment amount will be five times the payment amount listed for the 20K.
- No early withdrawal penalty.
- Interest is posted quarterly.
- If account is closed before interest is posted, you only lose that quarter’s interest. You don’t lose the interest that’s already posted to the account.
- No penalty if you miss a payment. If you miss three consecutive payments, they may close your account but you keep all earnings up to that point.
- She couldn’t offer a solution to the problem of the missing “36 month” deposit term on the online application.

TheMeliorist said: The higher rates require you to have a "WSB deposit account" with automatic transfer, so I don't think missing a deposit is an issue (for the higher rates). I wonder how large that account needs to be, what the conditions/fees are regarding it and how large the transfers must be...
The Simple Checking account doesn’t have a minimum balance requirement and no monthly fees if you make “at least one deposit or debit transaction within 6 statement cycles”.

uutxs said: TheMeliorist said: The higher rates require you to have a "WSB deposit account" with automatic transfer, so I don't think missing a deposit is an issue (for the higher rates). I wonder how large that account needs to be, what the conditions/fees are regarding it and how large the transfers must be.
It says "Automatic transfer from your account at WSB or another financial instituition." I take it that setting up an ACH transfer from your existing non-WSB checking a/c is an option.

I believe that's correct. That's what I'm planning on doing. You just get a slightly lower rate.

mttatkns said: The payments depend on, and are directly related to, the total size of the account. Visit the link in the OP to see the different possibilities. Thanks, I previously disregarded the numbers in the table. Is there any explanation anywhere on the site of what those numbers mean, or can you explain them? Does your account start with an initial balance or do you just build it up via monthly payments? Does interest accrue as soon as the monthly payment posts, or does it wait till the next quarter to be accounted?

Can both this account and the simple checking account be established out of state and without a branch visit? Are there any fees for ACH to the simple checking account (to fund it before each automatic transfer)?

pattyb53 said: I don't see the 12 month APY of 4.6%, I only see 12 month APY 4.08%. What am I missing? Check again, there are two sets of rates posted.

currently, the ally 5yr cd is probably a better deal, since your money is all-in from the start.