MoneyRates.com Announces the Best Savings Accounts of 2014
Foster City, Calif. (PRWEB) January 14, 2014 -- While some banks offer attractive savings-account yields as part of temporary promotions, there is another class of banks that offer leading rates with remarkable consistency – and some of those banks offered their customers more than four times the interest of today’s average savings account over the past year.
That’s according to a new study by MoneyRates.com, which tracked the banks in its MoneyRates Index – a representative sampling of 100 U.S. banks – to uncover which banks offered the highest rates over the last year. The results revealed several banks that paid well above the national average with striking regularity.
Richard Barrington, CFA, senior financial analyst for MoneyRates.com, says that tracking banks over the course of a year helps reveal which institutions are committed to offering strong rates over time – instead of just as a promotion.
"Since rates on savings accounts are subject to change at any time, it is important for people to look for banks that have been consistent leaders in offering high rates," Barrington says. "Don’t be swayed by teaser rates, but look for banks that have regularly been offering competitive rates."
Notably, the majority of banks in each quarter’s top-10 list remained near the top of the rankings throughout the year. The No. 1 bank in the year’s survey, Ally Bank, placed in the top 10 of every quarter’s results list, as did several of the other banks in the top seven.
While it may seem that today’s low-interest-rate environment makes it less important to shop for rates – the average savings account rate recorded in the yearly survey was just 0.186 percent – Barrington says that the discrepancies between today’s best rates and today’s average rates still make rate shopping a worthwhile proposition.
"While low interest rates may not have much curb appeal to customers, the fact is that differences in rates are actually magnified in this type of environment," Barrington says. "Today, you can actually find rates that are four or five times the national average – not something that was possible when savings account rates were at 5 percent. So, from that perspective, actively shopping for savings account rates is more important than ever."
Here are MoneyRates.com’s best savings accounts for 2014, along with their average annual percentage yield (APY) for the past four quarters:
1. Ally Bank – 0.883 percent
2. American Express Bank – 0.869 percent
3. Sallie Mae Bank – 0.867 percent
4. Discover Bank – 0.800 percent
5. EverBank – 0.717 percent
6. Capital One Bank – 0.508 percent
7. Zions Bank – 0.495 percent
In addition, these banks received honorable mentions for placing in the top 10 in at least two recent quarterly surveys, though they didn’t make the full year’s list because they weren’t included in quarterly surveys earlier in the year:
• Barclays Bank
• GE Capital Bank
• FNBO Direct
• CIT Bank
For the full analysis, please see MoneyRates.com’s Best Savings Accounts 2014 feature.
About the MoneyRates Index
This survey used savings account rates from banks in the MoneyRates Index from the fourth quarter of 2012 through the third quarter of 2013. MoneyRates.com collected rates throughout each quarter to measure consistency. The MoneyRates Index is a composite of 100 banks, including the 50 largest U.S. banks by deposit amount, plus 50 smaller banks. This sampling was constructed to be broadly representative of the general banking environment.
About MoneyRates.com
MoneyRates.com has been a leading source of information on bank rates, personal finance, savings accounts and investing since 1999. The site seeks to provide the highest rates on CDs, money market accounts and high-yield savings accounts. MoneyRates.com is owned and operated by QuinStreet, Inc. (NASDAQ: QNST), one of the largest Internet marketing and media companies in the world. QuinStreet is committed to providing consumers and businesses with the information they need to find, research and select the products, services and brands that best meet their needs. The company is a leader in visitor-friendly marketing practices. For more information, please visit QuinStreet.com.
Alex Bryant, MoneyRates.com, http://www.money-rates.com, +1 (650) 703-5214, [email protected]
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