For good bank rates, ‘pickings are far slimmer in Rhode Island’

WPRI.COM

Ted Nesi

Updated: Jul 20, 2012 4:48 PM

This is interesting. With interest rates down to their lowest levels in at least 50 years, savers are desperately looking for the highest yields they can get. It turns out the situation is particularly grim for Rhode Islanders:

An analysis of more than 8,300 banks and credit unions conducted for The Wall Street Journal shows that smaller banks often offer better rates than giant banks, while bigger credit unions often beat smaller ones. Online banks, meanwhile, are most competitive in savings and money-market accounts. And location can make a big difference in the rates savers get.  …

In Iowa, where lots of small lenders are vying for customer money, yields on three-year CDs average 1.11%, or 0.2 percentage point better than the national average, according to the analysis. Ninety-seven percent of Iowa banks have less than $1 billion in assets, according to the FDIC. …

The pickings are far slimmer in Rhode Island, where rates on three-year CDs average 0.74% and only 64% of banks have less than $1 billion in assets.

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