Sovereign Bank’s CD Rates Are OK, But There’s A Nasty Checking Requirement

Sovereign Bank has limited CD offerings available online — currently, just two odd-term promotions.

Although both CD rates are above average, they require a premier checking account.

This is unfortunate, as the Wyomissing, Pa., big bank, which is owned by Spanish financial giant Santander, spent some time at the top of 60-month term on our CD Rates Leaderboard in June and July 2011.

And we don’t recall there being a premier checking requirement back then.

Sovereign Bank’s premier checking account has a $30 monthly fee if you fail to maintain a combined balance of at least $20,000 in your accounts.

That starts to make these rates, which also require a $500 minimum deposit, less appealing:

15-month CD rate is 0.95% APY versus an average rate of 0.30% APY for 12-month CDs. (Leaderboard leader is 1.12% APY.)

50-month CD rate is 1.50% APY versus an average rate of 0.93% APY for 60-month CDs. (Leaderboard leader is 1.81% APY.)

Sovereign Bank has additional CD terms at its branches, which can have better rates, according to the specialist we spoke with.

Its more than 700 branches are located in the Northeast, in Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island.

You can learn more about Sovereign Bank at www.sovereignbank.com or call 877-768-2265.

There are definitely better deals out there, and you’ll find them if you compare Sovereign Bank’s returns with the best CD rates from scores of other banks in our extensive database.