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CIT Bank Review

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CIT Bank is an internet bank offering a range of financial products. Formerly OneWest Bank and Commerical Investment Trust, CIT offers competitive interest rates on deposit accounts with low fees. We cover the details in this CIT Bank review.

CIT BANK

Founded in 2009 as OneWest Bank, CIT Bank is FDIC-insured (FDIC # 58978) with its headquarters in Pasadena, CA. Until recently, CIT Bank was an online bank with no physical branches. That all changed in January 2020 when it acquired Mutual of Omaha Bank. With this acquisition, CIT now has nearly 100 branches in nine states.

StatesNumber of Branches
Arizona7
California66
Colorado1
Florida3
Hawaii1
Kansas1
Nebraska6
Nevada4
Texas3

As of December 31, 2019, CIT has $45 billion in total assets and nearly $36 billion in total deposits. Following its acquisition of Mutual of Omaha Bank, its total assets climbed to about $60 billion and deposits to approximately $42 billion.

CIT Bank Account Types

CIT Bank offers the following types of personal accounts:

  • Savings Accounts: A standard Premier High Yield Savings account and a higher paying Savings Builder account (see below)
  • eChecking: Tiered interest-bearing checkings account.
  • Money Market: CIT’s high-yield savings option
  • Term CDs: Terms range from one to five years, requiring a minimum deposit of $1,000.
  • Jumbo CDs: Terms ranging from two to five years, requiring a minimum deposit of $100,000.
  • No-Penalty CDs: An 11-month CD that doesn’t charge an early withdrawal penalty.
  • Ramp up CDs: Certificates of deposit ranging from two to four years that enable savers to benefit if rates rise during the CD’s term.

CIT Savings Builder

CIT designed its Savings Builder account to encourage customers to save more. The account comes with an interest rate (see below) higher than its Premier High Yield Savings account. To qualify, however, you must do one of two things:

  • Maintain a balance of $25,000 or more, or
  • Make at least one monthly deposit of $100 or more

While I applaud the account’s design to encourage savings, there is one flaw. The account often pays less than CIT’s Money Market Account. And the MMA doesn’t have either requirement.

What We Like About CIT Bank

  • Competitive interest rates
  • Low fees
  • Wide range of account types
  • No-penalty and RampUp CDs

What CIT Bank Could Improve

Having banked with CIT to take advantage of its rates on savings accounts, the one thing that could improve is the website. While the site did the basics, its design reminded me of websites from the 1990s.

CIT Bank Rating

CIT Bank

Rob Berger

Interest Rates
Fees
Account Types
Website
Mobile App

Summary

CIT Bank is an internet bank offering competitive rates on a variety of deposit accounts. Its low fees and high-yield accounts make it ideal for those looking for a savings account.

4.4

CIT Bank FAQs

Is CIT Bank FDIC insured?

Yes. It’s been active with the FDIC since March 19, 2009 (FDIC # 58978).

Is CIT Bank safe?

Yes. In addition to being FDIC-insured, it is considered well capitalized.

Is CIT Bank part of Citibank?

No. CIT Bank is owned by CIT Group, a bank holding company incorporated in Delaware and headquartered in New York City.

Does CIT Bank have physical branches?

Yes. Following its 2020 acquisition of Mutual of Omaha Bank, it now has nearly 100 branches in nine states.

How Does CIT Bank Compare

Rates

CIT’s rates for its standard savings account are mediocre among online banks. If that’s what you’re looking for, either look to CIT’s money market account below or check out our best savings accounts rate page. Its Savings Builder account, however, does offer competitive rates. The account either requires a high balance or a monthly deposit of at least $100. In this way, CIT is encouraging its customers to save on a regular basis.

Here are CIT Bank’s current rates on its savings accounts:

If you are looking for a simple account to save an emergency fund, its Money Market Account is the answer. It generally pays the highest yield available for demand deposits. Here are the current rates:

Unlike most banks, CIT pays interest on its checking account. The amount you’ll earn depends on the balance you maintain. In addition, there are no monthly fees and CIT reimburses up to $30 in ATM fees per statement cycle.

CIT Bank offers a wide range of certificates of deposit. In addition to term CDs, it offers a no-penalty CD and RampUp CDs. RampUp CDs enable you to take advantage of rates should they rise during the term of the CD.

Capital One Bank Review

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Capital One Bank, formerly ING Direct and Capital One 360, offers a range of banking products. These deposit accounts generally offer competitive interest rates with no monthly fees. In this Capital One Bank review, we’ll cover these accounts and the current yields. We’ll also look at account minimums and features, and see how CapOne compares to other online banks.

Capital One Savings Accounts

Capital One offers several different types of savings accounts. In addition to a standard account, called 360 Performance Savings, the bank also offers savings accounts for kids and for retirement savings in an IRA.

360 Performance Savings

Let’s first look at the terms of the 360 Performance Savings account:

  • Interest Rate: 0.50%
  • Monthly Fee: $0
  • Minimum Deposit: $0
  • FDIC Insured: Yes

It’s important to keep in mind that 360 Performance Savings accounts do not come with debit cards, ATM cards or checks.

Kids Savings Account

I’m always skeptical about financial products aimed at children. That’s particularly true for a savings account. What makes it any different than any other savings account. And in the case of Capital One, its Kids Savings Account pays just 0.50% APY, much lower than the 360 Performance Savings. Why and what makes this account unique for children?

Frankly, not much. Yes, it doesn’t come with fees or minimums, but neither does the 360 Performance Savings account. It does allow parents to link their child’s account to their account. This makes transfers for allowance easy. And you can set up savings goals, which is a useful feature. But is it worth a rate that’s a full 100 basis points lower?

For small amounts of money where the interest rate won’t make much difference, this account works well for a child. It’s not, however, the place to park larger amounts of cash for a child.

Note that when a child turns 18, their account is automatically converted into a 360 Savings account.

360 IRA Savings

Capital One offers both a traditional and Roth IRA Savings Account. Like the Kids Savings Account, however, it pays significantly less than the 360 Performance Savings Account– 0.80% APY.

It doesn’t charge fees or require minimums. And if you have other accounts and Capital One, it’s convenient to have IRA accounts at the same financial institution. Yet the rate is well below what you can get at other banks.

Here are some examples of better rates on IRA Savings Accounts:

  • Ally Bank: 1.00%
  • TIAA Bank: 1.40%
  • Alliant Credit Union: 1.35%
  • Synchrony Bank: 0.90%
Related: See our list of the best online savings accounts.

Capital One Checking Accounts

Capital One offers one of the best checking accounts available today–360 Checking. It also offers an excellent account for children. We’ve used both for years.

Capital One 360 Checking

We’ve had a 360 Checking account for years. While we don’t use it as our primary checking account, it’s been an easy way to transfer money back and forth with our daughter (see the Money account below).

Here are the details:

  • Interest Rate: 0.20% (all tiers)
  • Fees: No hidden fees or minimums as you earn interest on your everyday money
  • ATMs:  39,000 fee-free Allpoint® ATMAutomatic Teller Machines and 2,000 Capital One® ATMs
  • Debit Card:  Free MasterCard® Debit Card for all purchases
  • Credit Pull: According to Capital One 360, they do a “soft” pull (won’t affect your credit score) when you apply for a checking account. However, they do a “hard” pull (may affect your credit score) if you apply for an overdraft line of credit.
  • Direct Deposit: Yes
  • Minimum Deposit Requirement: There are no minimum balance requirements
  • Availability: All 50 states
  • Mobile Deposit: Yes
  • Online Bill Pay: Yes

I’ve found both the website and mobile app to be extremely easy to use. And while they have bank branches near our home, I’ve never had to go into one.

MONEY Teen Checking

We opened MONEY accounts for both of our children in high school. The account proved to be a convenient way to give them an allowance. And our daughter used it to get her direct deposit paycheck when she worked at a Hallmark store.

The account earns the same 0.20% interest rate as the 360 Checking. It has no minimum deposit requirement or monthly fees. And it’s linked to the parents’ account for easy access and control. It also comes with a free debit card for both ATM withdraws and as a purchase option online or in stores.

Children as young as 8 years old can have an account. Once they turn 18, they can convert it to a 360 Checking account if they want to. Bot of our children, now in their mid-20s, still have the MONEY account!

Capital One 360 CDs

Capital One offers certificates of deposit with terms ranging from 6 to 60 months. Given the crazy interest rate environment we are in, however, it makes no sense to invest in a CD unless you think rates will go down even further. Here’s why.

They highest current rate at Capital One is 1.50% for 12 and 18 month CDs. The rate goes down for longer-term CDs, which is not normally the case. In a “normal” rate environment, CD yields rise as the term lengthens.

Unless you think rates will fall even lower, there’s no reason to lock in your money for a rate you can earn on a savings account.

Capital One does charge a penalty for early withdrawal of a CD. For CDs of 12 months or less, the penalty for early withdrawal is 3 months of interest. The penalty rises to 6 months of interest for longer CDs. Also, keep in mind that you cannot make a partial withdrawal of CD funds–it’s all or nothing.

Capital One CreditWise

Capital One CreditWise

With Capital One you also get free access to your VantageScore 3.0 credit score. Called CreditWise, you’ll see the factors that are both helping and hurting your score. Capital One also gives you personalized suggestions on how to improve your credit score.

CreditWise also comes with a simulator. You can, for example, see how making 6 months of on-time payments or increasing your credit limit, for example, affect your score. You get access to your TransUnion credit report, identity alerts and a list of activities that could affect your credit score.

Refer-a-Friend

360 Performance Savings account: Capital One pays you when you refer a friend or family member. The current payout is $20 per referral, up to a total of $1,000. In addition, the friend you refer can get up to $100 in bonuses from CapOne.

360 Checking Account: In addition to the $20 referral fee you can earn, the friend you refer can get a bonus of $25 if qualifying transactions are met.

Capital One FAQs

Is Capital One Bank an online bank?

Yes and no. It is an online bank available throughout the U.S. Unlike most online banks, however, it does have physical branches in multiple states.

Where does Capital One Bank have branches

It currently has physical branches in Washington DC, Connecticut, Delaware, Louisiana, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Texas and Virginia

Is Capital One Bank safe?

Yes. It’s bank accounts are insured by the FDIC. And it offers online fraud reporting, locking of debit cards, real-time alerts, and secure log in.

Is Capital One Bank FDIC insured?

Yes. Capital One was established in 1933. It’s headquartered in McLean, VA and is an active member of the FDIC (#4297)