Here’s a strong online savings bank offering decent savings account rates.
Stories about failing banks make front page news, eclipsing a lot of the more positive events that occur in the banking industry. During a time when the economy has been unkind to us and especially to our friends in the financial industry, it’s welcome news to hear about the success stories. So I’d like to give this update on EverBank, which is one of those institutions that has bucked the current economic trend.
Top Online Savings Bank: Why EverBank Remains Solid
EverBank is actually the first online savings bank I took an interest in. I mentioned them on my site a while back, while covering a fascinating investment topic, which was on how to hedge for inflation. During my research, I stumbled on EverBank as the one bank that offered products, particularly high interest savings accounts, that addressed some of my diversification needs (through their foreign currency products). Well, I’m happy to report that they’re actually one of the banks that has done extremely well during the past year:
EverBank recently reported positive earnings gains with a third quarter net income increase of 197% over last year’s third quarter numbers. Also, the growth this past quarter is around 37% compared to the previous quarter of this year. EverBank’s done particularly well in their mortgage banking business, showing strong mortgage asset portfolio returns.
On top of this, EverBank has been looking to make acquisitions; they’ve actually just recently acquired a financial company called Tygris Commercial Finance Group Inc, which they targeted for diversification purposes. The acquisition is expected to provide more commercial exposure to EverBank, whose primary business is in retail banking. They also believe that this transaction will “have a strong impact on their earnings and will increase their capital base by around $470 million.” It’s obvious that EverBank is doing more than a few things right here: they were one of those institutions that sidestepped the subprime mortgage meltdown thereby keeping their powder dry. Now they are in a great position to grow: there’s no better time than today, to be in a position of financial strength.
This online bank is a solid company that caters to a “mass affluent” customer base; if you can afford their minimum balances (typically $1,500 per account), then they’re a great choice for your basic banking needs. They’re also known for relatively higher yields compared to their retail banking counterparts. Here are just some of their more popular savings products:
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With higher yields, low expenses, excellent customer service, quality products and strong fundamentals, I consider EverBank as a top choice for savers. Here’s where to visit their site for more details and information.
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{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
great writing!
Good to get some deep insight. Even I heard some flying news about EverBank acquisitions, need to follow more on it.
Do you think Everbank is better than ING?
@Ganesh,
I actually like both banks. ING Direct is a favorite among many people I know (and bloggers). ING’s rates aren’t as good as far as I know. EverBank’s base rate for their money market account is 1.51% (their bonus rate is 2.51%). ING Direct’s Orange Savings is at 1.30%. Also, I like the foreign currency products at EverBank: again, they’re the only U.S. bank I know that offers these types of products. If you want to compare rates, then check out my post here.
The minimum OPENING balance is $1500 for the money market. The minimum balance to avoid a fee is $5000. If you drop below that, they charge $8.95 a month.
@Aryn,
Thanks for clarifying. And to add to this, EverBank is geared towards higher net worth people in general (or the higher end of the mass market). If you’re looking for no minimum balance / no fee accounts, you can always check out HSBC Direct, Ally Bank or ING Direct.
EverBank is definitely targeted towards the higher end of the net worth scale. Several years ago, they allowed independent advisors to offer their products to clients and had a nice report for advisors to track assets, etc. for clients. The idea being that if an individual is already working with an independent advisor, they are likely to have a higher net worth than the average bank customer and present a lower amount of risk when it comes to lending. This reduced risk and access to more client deposit dollars allows them to more effectively offer competitive rates. As noted, their yields are stout and the Yield Pledge Money Market Account is the best in the business (as far as I’m concerned anyway).
Thanks for this review. I’d like to add it to our bank review section.
Thanks Kristen, that would be great!
I’m surprised no one has mentioned the American Express Personal Savings account, which currently gets 1.70% APY — the high end of things, and it’s not a teaser rate. I believe it’s no minimum balance, and according to the troubled asset ratio chart, they have a pretty low percentage (which is how I found them). Their online interface is nothing to write home about, and the accounts are completely separated from the credit card account web site, but it’s decent enough.