Best 18-Month CD Rates Reach 1.95% APY

Not every bank offers 18-month certificates of deposit, and there’s nothing special about the returns from those that do.

The best 18-month CD rates are about half-way between what you can earn on 12-month and 24-month CDs.

But if you need a CD that will mature in summer 2011, these will work.

They could also hit the sweet spot where rising rates on shorter-term CDs catch up to the yield on these longer CDs just as they mature — if the Federal Reserve will allow interest rates to start rising late this year.

AmTrust Direct, the online arm of AmTrust Bank in Cleveland, offers the best deal — 1.95% APY with a $1,000 minimum deposit.

The other top, nationally available 18-month CD rates are:

1.84% APYwith a $1,000 minimum deposit from Aurora Bank, which is based in Wilmington, Del., with a branch in Jersey City, N.J.

1.82% APY with a $10,000 minimum from Pacific Mercantile Bank, with eight branches in Southern California.

Click here to see how much you can earn with these rates using our certificate of deposit calculator.