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By Pam Leibfried
If you’re a saver like I am, you’ll be happy to learn that Alliant just raised the interest rate it pays on its savings accounts!
Effective October 1, Alliant members earn 1.16% annual percentage yield (APY) on Savings Accounts, Supplemental Savings Accounts, Kids Savings Accounts, Traditional IRAs, Roth IRAs and SEP IRAs.
I was surprised when I found out we were raising our rates again. At the most recent meeting of the Federal Reserve Board just a couple of weeks ago, the Fed decided to keep the national “Fed target rate” steady for now. So why did Alliant raise its savings rate again now even though the Fed held pat?
To find out, I trekked down the hallway to the office of Dana Vas Nunes, Alliant’s senior manager of deposit products. In other words, Dana is our internal product manager for all of the savings account types I listed above. I knew she’d have the inside scoop.
Vas Nunes reminded me that this isn’t the first time Alliant has increased its savings rate well ahead of Fed rate hikes: “Last fall, we raised our rates even though the Fed board decided to wait until mid-December to raise the Fed rate. And we’ve raised our rates three times this year too, first in April, then in July, and now again.”
Our president and CEO, Dave Mooney, had this to say: “This rate increase reflects Alliant’s commitment to rewarding our members’ loyalty with consistently high interest rates on their savings. We take pride in offering high interest on savings and correspondingly low interest rates on loans.”
Alliant’s commitment to providing great rates for its members – whether they are savers or borrowers – is nothing new, either. I received an analysis of our rates from one of our stat geeks on Monday morning, and as of October 2, comparing Alliant rates to the national average rate offered by banks gives these impressive results:
It’s rates like these that contribute to all the awards and kudos that Alliant has won lately, which my colleague Maggie Tomasek summarized in a Money Mentor blog article just a couple of months back (and we’ve gotten a couple more awards since then, too).
When I spoke with Dana, she explained to me that when Alliant considers whether to pull the trigger on a rate increase, company leaders use a multi-factor decision-making process. “When Alliant makes rate decisions, we have to factor in not only the Fed Rate and any changes to it that are expected in the near future, but also all of the other ongoing expenses that impact the credit union’s bottom line.”
Those expenses include rapidly-growing costs for regulatory compliance, network security and other new technology that is necessary to ensure that the credit union remains safe and competitive for the long term.
If you want further insights into the factors that impact the rate you earn on your savings, check out past Money Mentor articles covering how Alliant sets its rates and how Federal rate decisions impact your wallet.
1. Comparison of Alliant October 2017 Savings Dividend and California average bank savings obtained from Datatrac as of October 2, 2017. 2. Comparison of Alliant October 2017 Checking Dividend and California average bank checking obtained from Datatrac as of October 2, 2017. 3. Comparison of Alliant’s October 2, 2017 rate of as low as 2.49% annual percentage rate (APR) for a 72-month loan for purchase of a new auto with the national average rate of 4.17% APR for a 72-month new car purchase loan.
Pam Leibfried is a marketing content specialist whose love of words led to a writing and editing career. After a brief stint teaching English, she transitioned to corporate communications and spent 20 years at The Nielsen Company before joining Alliant’s content development team. Early in her work life, Pam’s friend Matt explained the benefits of a 401(k) and her dad encouraged her to start a Roth IRA. Their good counsel prompted her to prioritize retirement savings, which just might enable her to retire early so she can read more and live out the slogan on her fave T-shirt: “I have a retirement plan: I plan on quilting.”
