why can’t the major banks offer decent CD interest rates anymore? Or savings accounts with compound interest over a fraction of a percentage?

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51M. As a child I had a children’s saving account with compound interest. My $100 went up to just below $200 in around 4 – 5 years. That seems like peanuts, but to a kid that was a lot.As a young adult, in the mid 1990s, I remember my older colleagues were talking seriously about CD interest rates to put away for up to five years, at 6%.

Now, in 2024, with the major banks, a one-year CD from Bank of America is 0.03%. Maximum rates for 5 years is 2.5% at Chase, no matter how much money you put away. Savings accounts compound interest rates are 0.01%, max, IF you maintain at least $10,000 in the account.Yet interest rates for a housing loan are at 7% and putting housing purchases out of reach. How can the banks do this?

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In: Economics

38 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

I just got a 5.5% 10 month CD. It was an inducement to open a no fee checking account at a local bank. I was upfront with the banker that I was there only for the CD and would probably cancel the account in 10 months. He didn’t object at all. Sometimes you just have to shop around.

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