The MoneyAisle Bank Browser

We've got a new MoneyAisle feature that we're excited to introduce - the BankBrowser. Now consumers can browse information about various Member FDIC banks across the U.S. and see MoneyAisle's overnight auction savings account and CD Rates at the same time.

The BankBrowser is still in its early stages - over the next few weeks we'll be expanding it dramatically - but we wanted to give you, our loyal blog readers and MoneyAisle fans, a little peek behind the curtain as well build this out.

If you have any suggestions as to features you'd like to see incorporated into the BankBrowser, please feel free to either leave a comment here or send us an email.

Safe CDs, checking accounts for investors scared of stocks

USA Today had an article by Sandra Block yesterday, entitled "Safe CDs, checking accounts for investors scared of stocks", detailing how even though the Federal Reserve is keeping interest rates low there are still some options for finding great CD rates for people who don't want to tie up their savings in the volatility of the stock market (and if your 401k statement looks anything like my recent ones do, you definitley don't want to tie up all of your savings in the volatility of the stock market!)

This new online service allows small and midsize banks to compete for your business through Internet auctions. To get bids, enter the amount you want to deposit, the term of the CD you'd like to buy, and your state of residence. MoneyAisle also allows you to solicit bids for high-yield savings accounts.

You don't have to register to search for bids. In our test, the best rate offered for a one-year CD with a $5,000 deposit was 2.62%.

It should be noted that since MoneyAisle is constantly adding new banks to our network and the the banks in our network adjust their rates to what they feel will win them deposits, the rates offered for the very product listed in USA Today are better still than the 2.62% listed in the USA Today article - as of this writing 12-month CD rates are at 2.8% and could get higher still.

You can find out what MoneyAisle's rates are for a variety of products by running a free live auction on the site right now. Click Here to Try: Live Auction for CD Rates.

MoneyAisle on NBC-TV in New York

MoneyAisle was recently featured in a segment on NBC-TV's flagship station, WNBC, out of New York. I've embedded the video below - it has interesting information on CD Laddering and how MoneyAisle finds consumers great savings account and CD Rates.

MoneyAisle on ABC-TV in Maine

Check out this link to see a piece on MoneyAisle from Maine's ABC affiliate - highlighting the reverse auction platform's ability to match consumers up with great high-yield savings account and CD rates.

I'd love to be able to embed the video onto the blog here, but ABC-Maine's Website doesn't provide that capability.

Madoff Is Guilty; Ordered to Jail

From Bloomberg:

Madoff’s guilty plea -- he repeated the word 11 times this morning -- marks the downfall of a once-acclaimed money manager who told the world his fortune came through an eponymous firm that specialized in making markets, trading securities and advising wealthy clients.

And for you folks who prefer your news to be of a more visual nature, the New York Post has some video:

Bank Failures: What Happens After

Check out the amazing video below from CBS's "60 Minutes" program, from a segment entitled "Your Bank Has Failed: What Happens Next?"

The segment shows what happens when the FDIC takes over a failed bank - the FDIC granted CBS unprecedented coverage of the event to help consumers understand what happens to their money in the event that this happens. It's fascinating stuff.



A lot of people are worried about their banks these days. While devastated giants like Citigroup get bailed out again and again and again, many smaller banks are failing. The federal agency that takes over unsound banks is the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation - the same people who guarantee depositors won't lose their money.

Most every Friday night now the FDIC seizes several banks. You haven't seen these takeovers happening because they're done secretly at night to make sure there's no needless panic by depositors.

But last week 60 Minutes and correspondent Scott Pelley were given extraordinary access to one of these operations because the FDIC wants you to know what happens to your money when your bank has failed.

CD Rates News: Latest

Here's a roundup of some of the latest CD Rates news in the blogosphere.

The Indiana News Center cautions that with rates currently lower than they had been, it's best to have your money in CDs with durations of 3 years or less.

Where To Invest Your Money

But while cd's may be safer, financial experts caution against locking that money up for long periods of time, since the interest rate you'll be earning now is so low.

To make sure you're earning the most you can on your investment, even during times when rates are lower, a service like MoneyAisle where banks bid against each other to give you great CD Rates is key.

Jason P. Jones over at BharatBasha has a different strategy - he says the best way to deal with current rates is by CD Laddering.

The best way to beat the low rates is not to invest in long term CDs with low interest rates, but by CD laddering. Laddering CDs allows you take advantage of interest rates spread on a number of months or even years. If you notice, the high rates are offered on long term CDs.

CD Rates News: March 5

Here's a roundup of some of the interesting articles about CD Rates currently being posted online:

Over at the Consumerist, Jim from Bargaineering writes about certificates of deposit, and the things you should look out for when depositing your money in one. He covers FDIC limits and inflation risk, among other topics.

Inflation risk is the greatest risk you face when you deposit funds into a certificate of deposit. Since the interest rate is fixed and because there is a penalty if you withdraw funds before maturity, inflation can invisibly erode your savings. Interest rates on certificates of deposit are already fairly low, because your principal is protected by FDIC insurance, so they are especially susceptible to inflation. If you lock yourself into a multi-year CD and inflation or interest rates rise, you may find yourself holding onto a CD that is costing you money. The real kicker is you'll have to pay a penalty to close the CD and access your money!

The Los Angeles Times has an article on what could happen to your CD rates if your bank is bought.

But there is one risk: If your bank fails and is bought by another institution, the acquirer isn’t obligated to honor the failed bank’s savings rates. You may be told you’ll either have to accept a lower rate or take your money elsewhere.

Parallel CDs vs. CD Ladders

You can try several different strategies in your search for the best CD rates. Our friends over at TheStreet.com have an interesting article up about Parallel CDs -

Building a CD (certificate of deposit) ladder is a common strategy investors employ to benefit from CD's high interest rates while still having access to their cash at set intervals. But setting up a ladder takes time and effort. Depending on how much money you're working with and the flexibility you need, another idea is buying parallel CDs - a few CDs set to mature at the same time -- instead of building an entire ladder.

I would like to address an issue about CD Ladders that TheStreet puts forth here - building a CD ladder USED TO take time and effort. MoneyAisle's recent addition of CD Laddering to our investment options takes both the time and the effort out of building a CD Ladder - you can build an entire investment portfolio almost instantly by running multiple CD auctions at once for different durations in the ladder.

Buying parallel CDs is a much simpler strategy: you buy several CDs with the same maturity date. If you need to withdraw, you pay a penalty, but the hit you take with the fee is minimized since your money is invested in multiple CDs instead of just one.

The issue I take with this section of the article is this: If you build a ladder with staggered returns - 3-month CDs, 6-month CDs, etc. - the chance of some of your money becoming available when you need it becomes much more likely when the maturity dates are staggered every three months. If you buy multiple one-year CDs and spread your money across several different banks, you'll still face a possible early withdrawal penalty if you need some of that cash.

Now, there are situations where Parallel CDs could be useful to an investor - if you have more than the FDIC limit and wish to spread your money across several FDIC-Member banks (which is something you can also accomplish at MoneyAisle by running subsequent auctions for CD rates - you can even exclude the bank that the first CD is in to ensure you'll have your money spread across multiple FDIC-insured CDs.)

I'd love to hear your thoughts on the Parallel CD vs. CD Ladder debate.