Two unusual deals just landed in the Bankaholic mailbox — one intriguing, one not.
Harris Bank wants to let us “Enjoy More Summer Fun” by skipping a car payment.

That sounds like a pretty terrible reason to stop repaying any kind of loan. Why a reputable bank would encourage frivolous spending in the middle of a terrible [...]

This summer’s highest yields on 24-month certificates of deposit wouldn’t have made it into our top three just a couple of months ago.
But they still pay significantly more than the national average of 1.47% APY for 24-month CDs — and you’ve got to earn more than that.

The best 24-month CD rates currently available nationwide are:
2.65% [...]

Umpqua Bank, which has scores of branches throughout the Pacific Northwest, has come up with a new incentive to save more.
Open a “Sweet Saver” savings account and free checking account before August 28, 2009.

Then have at least $50 a month automatically transferred from your checking account to your savings account.
Umpqua will reward your thrift [...]

This southern bank has come up with one of the best CD rates around for short-term deposits.
Colonial Bank is offering 2.50% APY on a 12-month certificate of deposit with a minimum deposit of $500.
That’s better than the top-paying nationally available rate of 2.30%, and more than twice the national average of 1.16% for a [...]

All of the best CD rates are being paid by community banks and thrifts these days.
Unlike the big banks, which have received billions of dollars worth of cheap capital and loans from the federal government, the little guys need your money.

A few small banks make their top-paying certificates of deposit available to savers nationwide.
But most [...]

CD rates resumed their slide this week, indicating that they still haven’t bottomed out.
Bankrate’s weekly survey of large banks and thrifts taken June 24 found the average annual yield for a:
Three-month CD declined to 0.58% from 0.60% the previous week. That’s the lowest average since Bankrate began tracking 3-month CD rates in March 1989.
Six-month [...]

First Midwest Bank caught our eye with a novel 32-month certificate of deposit whose rate increases every eight months.
The “Rising Rate CD” starts with a not-bad 1.76% APY, graduates to 2.05% APY for the second eight months, then goes to 3.05% APY and finally to 4.05% APY.

It works out to an average annual return [...]

This South Florida bank is making a big splash with the best CD rates available on four different types of certificates of deposit.

TotalBank is paying 2.55% APY on 3-, 6-, 9- and 12-month CDs, with just a $1,000 minimum deposit.
That is not only two to three times the national average for those four types of [...]

We’ve seen it happen time and time again.
A successful small bank offers a couple of great CD rates to depositors nationwide and gets buried in applications.
Overwhelmed by the paperwork and the influx of cash, the bank quickly cuts its rate or starts refusing out-of-state deposits.
The banks that topped our latest listings of the best 6-month [...]