Online Banks Are Healthy, Growing, & 100% Safe
So far, 145 banks and thrifts have been closed by regulators since the start of the credit crisis in 2008. One hundred a forty five. Every Friday, when the FDIC usually announces closures, for the last two years, we’ve expected at least one bank to fail… sometimes two. Last week, five banks failed, bringing the 2009 total to 120.
Scary huh?
So you might be surprised to learn that not a single one of those failures was an online bank. In fact, the last time an online bank failed was back in 2007 when NetBank of Alpharetta, GA was closed. It was acquired by another online bank, ING Direct. Many people would have you think that your money is safer earning 0% at your local bank than 2% at an online bank.
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Update: The Treasury Department announced the fixed rate component on new Series I bonds would be 0.30% for the bonds issued in the next six months. Coupled with the inflation component we all know ahead of time (see below), the new Series I bond rate will be 3.36% for the next six months.
One of the most annoying things in personal finance is opening a bank account and then seeing the interest rate drop. This happened very often in the falling interest rate environment of the last year and a half. I remember opening an online savings account only to see the rate fall the next day! It’s not bait and switch, it’s not sneaky, and banks don’t do it on purpose because nothing stops you from leaving. 

