Compare
CD rates nationally and in your area.
CDs
- 0.46% (1-year CD yields)
- 1.71% (5-year CD yields)
Here's a look at the state of CD rates from Bankrate.com's weekly national survey of large banks and thrifts conducted April 20, 2011.
CD rates were a mixed bag this week.
The average one-year CD yield is down 1 basis point to 0.46 percent. The five-year CD yield is unchanged at 1.71 percent.
In jumbo CDs, the average one-year yield is down 1 basis point to 0.51 percent while the five-year yield is up 1 basis point to 1.73 percent.
The average money market account yield is unchanged at 0.17 percent.
Scammers and frauds like Bernie Madoff don't limit themselves to taking advantage of only the very wealthy. Anyone with any amount money can be a target, and certificates of deposit are a popular lure for the unscrupulous.
For instance, on April 19, a former investment adviser to municipalities, credit unions, school districts and trade unions in Michigan pleaded guilty to bank and wire fraud. Dante DeMiro ran a Ponzi scheme in which he promised to invest money in certificates of deposit but instead pocketed the funds, according to a story on The Detroit News' website headlined "Milford man enters guilty plea in investor fraud case."
In 2010, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. issued some guidelines for consumers placing deposits at banks through an agent. Though the questions they suggest won't guarantee protection against fraud, they're a good place to start.
Click here to go to the FDIC consumer alert page and scroll down to the entry titled "FDIC suggests steps for consumers when placing deposits at FDIC-insured banks through an agent -- April 7, 2010."
Use Bankrate's rate tables to find high-yield CDs and high-yield money market accounts.
All deposit products listed with Bankrate are FDIC-insured.
Read more at Bankrate's new blog for CD investors, the CD rates blog.
-- Sheyna Steiner