Local Deals Beat Best National CD Rates

Community banks that only accept deposits from local residents continue to offer the best CD rates around.

When we ranked the top-paying, nationally-available 12-month CDs earlier this month, the best deal was 2.26% APY.

Here are four small banks that are paying savers in towns from New York to Arkansas significantly more:

Massena Savings & Loan, in Massena and Waddington, N.Y., is paying 2.82% on a 12-month CD with a minimum of $1,000.

American Trust Bank, with branches in Roswell, Alpharetta and Cumming, Ga., pays 2.76% APY on a 12-month CD with a $1,000 minimum deposit.

Cornerstone Bank, with branches in Tiff City, Lanagan and South West City, Mo., doesn’t have a Web site. But it does offer 2.75% APY on a 12-month CD, also with a $1,000 minimum deposit.

First National Bank of Altheimer, Ark., has a couple of great deals on odd-term CDs. It’s paying 3.01% APY on either a 7-month or a 15-month CD with a $500 minimum deposit.

Moral to the story: You’ve got to shop your local banks before buying any certificate of deposit.

Click here to compare those offers with the best CD rates from dozens of other banks in our extensive database.