BIRMINGHAM, Ala.—A new report supports the notion that credit unions offer better interest rates than banks.
A study from DepositAccounts.com—which surveyed bank and CU CD, money market, checking and savings accounts nationally—showed “a simple, almost universal trend across the four products: credit unions offer better rates than banks at almost every level on almost every product,” the report stated.
The study shows that across every type of account they found “a remarkably similar pattern” of CUs offering better rates.
When the study compared banks and CUs with asset sizes of above $5 billion, credit unions looked even better, the study said. Across the four product types, CU rates in this asset class were significantly higher, up to 184% greater on savings accounts.
“Within this institution size, banks simply do not hold a candle to the product offerings of the credit unions on any of the four product categories,” the study said.
The biggest rate disparity, according to the repot, was shown when comparing the five largest CUs to the five largest banks.
The study’s conclusion: “While numerous considerations factor into the bank vs. credit union discussion, one component that is almost uniformly appreciated among consumers is a higher interest rate on their deposited funds. As the above data analysis shows, in this key consideration, credit unions clearly have the upper hand.”