R.I. banks offer best 2-year returns in the U.S., study says

RHODE ISLAND'S Banks and credit unions offer the highest return rates in the United States, according to a state-by-state comparison by personal finance website GoBankingRates.com. / COURTESY GOBANKINGRATES.COM
RHODE ISLAND'S Banks and credit unions offer the highest return rates in the United States, according to a state-by-state comparison by personal finance website GoBankingRates.com. / COURTESY GOBANKINGRATES.COM

LOS ANGELES – Accounts held in Rhode Island banks and credit unions offer some of the highest return rates in the nation, according to a newly released study from GoBankingRates.com.

According to the personal finance website’s “Best Interest Rates in Every State” report, Rhode Island ranked No. 1 in the United States, with the best average 2-year returns on deposits. The study ranked Massachusetts at No. 8.

GoBankingRates.com compiled data from more than 4,000 American-based banks and found that CD rates on savings, checking and other investment accounts in local Rhode Island banks among the most lucrative among the majority of states sampled.

The data is current as of Dec. 31, 2012.

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The study also cataloged superlative deposit rates on 2-year CDs offered by four top local banks and credit unions, including Alliance Blackstone Valley Federal Credit Union (1.25 percent), The Providence Postal Federal Credit Union (1.2), Greenwood Credit Union (1.1) and the Cranston Municipal Employees Credit Union (1.1).

The national average for deposit returns yielded annually was 0.31 percent on a 6-month CD, 0.46 on a 1-year CD, 0.69 on a 2-year CD, and 0.21 on a savings account. Rhode Island outpaced these rates by 0.15 percent on average, with the widest disparity shown in the 2-year CD rate, where local returns were 0.27 percent higher than the national average.

In terms of savings, Greenwood Credit Union stood out. National savings returns offered less than a quarter of a penny on the dollar, and Rhode Island’s average came in only slightly higher, but Greenwood’s return showed a savings rate nearly three times that: 0.75 percent.

To view the full report, visit: www.gobankingrates.com.

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