Best Rates for Savings & DeposIt’s In The U.S. – 1st Quarter, 2018

Written by Richard Barrington

Financial Expert

Edited by Kristin Marino

Managing Editor

On the surface, it might seem that things are looking up for bank customers. Average savings account interest rates and money market rates have risen for four consecutive quarters, making their biggest jumps in the first quarter of 2018. It looks like consumers are finally in line to start earning more on their deposit accounts. But looks can be deceiving.

Most banks leave rates unchanged – or lower

The fact is that the trend toward higher rates is being driven by a relatively small number of banks — think of them as the rebel banks, leading a movement to offer consumers decent savings account rates while most of the industry continues to offer next to nothing.

Just 22 percent of the banks in the latest MoneyRates America’s Best Rates survey increased their savings account rates in the first quarter of 2018, compared to 78 percent that left rates unchanged or, in some cases, even lowered them. The overall average savings and money market rates are being pulled up by a relatively few banks that offer exceptional rates.

In short, the rate environment is not really getting better for most consumers, despite recent Fed rate increases and rising inflation. The rate environment is only getting better for consumers with accounts at the right banks — those offering the best savings account rates and the best money market rates.

This article will help you find those banks.

How we spot consistency

The America’s Best Rates survey is based on the MoneyRates Index, a cross-section of the retail banking industry consisting of the 50 largest deposit institutions plus 25 medium-sized banks and 25 smaller banks. Rates are averaged throughout the quarter so that rankings are based on consistently high rates rather than just a single snapshot in time.

Not your average bank

Overall, the average savings account rate increased by .031 percent in the first quarter to 0.305 percent. However, as you can see from the list above, several banks have broken away from the pack and are offering savings account rates more than a full percentage point higher than the average.

Not only are these banks offering much higher rates than the average, but during a quarter when most banks did not raise their rates, all ten of the banks above raised their rates by 0.124 percent or more. That means that:

The top banks are not only offering savings account rates more than four times as high as the industry average, but they are also raising them four times as quickly.

Online bank interest rates are 15 times higher

Another important trend is the divergence between online savings account rates and rates at traditional, branch-based accounts. Already significant, the gulf between the two widened during the first quarter. The average online savings account interest rate increased by 0.104 percent to 0.912, while the average traditional savings account interest rate went in the other direction, decreasing by 0.007 percent to 0.059 percent.

This means that the average online savings account offers a rate more than 15 times higher than the average traditional rate. All of the top ten savings account rates in the first quarter were from online accounts.

To put some dollar figures on all these percentages, a customer with a $10,000 savings account taking advantage of the top rate would earn $158 a year in interest. At the average bank, those earnings would be only $30.50 a year — and customers insisting on a branch-based account would fare even worse, earning just $5.90 a year.

Highest money market rates at online banks

Conditions for money market accounts were similar to those for savings accounts, with a minority of accounts raising rates in the first quarter while some banks are clearly breaking away from the average to push their rates higher. The average money market rate increased by 0.054 percent, to .305 percent. Money market rates had trailed savings account rates on average for eight consecutive quarters, but they pulled even by rising more quickly in the first quarter.

Here again, most of the action comes from the leading banks. A year ago, the best money market rate in this survey was 1.00 percent. Now, that rate would not even crack the top ten.

As with savings account rates, online money market rates show a significant advantage over their branch-based counterparts. The average online money market account rate increased by 0.164 percent during the first quarter to 0.893 percent. Meanwhile, the average branch-based money market rate fell by 0.014 percent to 0.112 percent. Nine of the top ten money market rates are for online accounts.

Consistency — an incentive to switch

The best savings account rates and the best money market rates have broken away to soar much higher than the averages, while most banks have left their rates unchanged. But if you want to earn higher interest rates without the hassle of changing banks all the time, consider one of the banks listed above. They demonstrate their own incentive to stay consistently at the front of the pack, a trend toward higher rates that can make it easier for you to earn the most for your money.