First Republic Bank got its start in 1985 as a small thrift company. Today, the firm offers personal banking, business banking, and wealth and trust management services.

They have ~70 branch locations in 6 states (California, Connecticut, Florida, Massachusetts, New York and Oregon) with most being centered in major metropolitan areas.

Because they cater to high net-worth, low risk individuals, many of their banking products come with steeper minimum deposit requirements than those at other online banks and/or nationally available credit unions.

First Republic bank offers a full suite of deposit products. They offer checking accounts, money market accounts, savings accounts and CDs (certificates of deposit).

In our review below we will focus on the 12 certificates of deposit products sold by First Republic Bank.

First Republic Bank’s CDs are federally insured by the FDIC up to $250,000 per depositor or $500,000 for joint accounts. All of their CDs come with a minimum deposit requirement of $10,000.

First Republic Bank CD Rates + Account Details

To view First Republic Bank’s current CD rates on their website, you’ll have to use their “Rate Finder” tool. This tool requires you to specify your region before populating a list of their going CD rates. That said, we’ve run this scenario for all available regions and found rates to be static across the board. In normal interest rate environments, however, these rates may vary slightly by region.

First Republic Bank currently has 12 CDs to choose from. They have 10 standard term CDs and 2 promotional CDs. The promotional CDs consist of a “4 Month Special” and an “8 Month Liquid CD.”

The 4 month special, for all intents and purposes, is just like a regular CD but it comes with a higher APY. Its current annual percentage yield is listed in our table below.

The liquid CD comes with the same guaranteed interest rate that a standard CD does, but allows you access to your funds without incurring a penalty. You are allowed to withdraw funds once per week (every 7 days), however you must maintain a minimum balance of $10,000 in this account. If you dip below this threshold First Republic Bank may close the CD and transfer the funds to another account.

CD Rates

To give these offers above some context, the current national average for a 12 month CD and a 60 month CD sit at just 0.25% APY and 0.48% APY, respectively according to recent FDIC data.

Early Withdrawal Penalties and Grace Period

Upon the maturity date of your CD, First Republic will allow you to withdraw any or all of your funds penalty free for 7 days. If you do nothing during this time, the CD will automatically renew into another CD with the same term.

Outside of the 8 month liquid CD all of First Bank Republic’s other CD options come with early withdrawal penalties if you need funds prior to maturity. It should also be noted that First Bank Republic’s early withdrawal penalties are more expensive than other banks and credit unions.

Early withdrawal penalties are as follows:

• CDs with terms of 1 year or less have a penalty equal to six months’ interest on the amount you withdraw.
• CDS with terms of 1 year or greater have a penalty equal to 15 months’ interest on the amount you withdraw.

Compounding and Crediting Interest

All CDs at First Republic Bank feature daily compounding interest. You also have the flexibility to choose when your interest is credited.

Opening a CD with First Republic Bank

There are three ways to open a certificate of deposit with First Republic Bank, none of which are online.

1. The first is to give the bank a call at (888) 408-0288. They have banking specialists available during regular working hours to get you set up with any CD you choose.
2. The second option is to complete an online form and have the bank reach out to you. You can find this form here.
3. The third would be to stop into a branch and speak with a representative in person. You can locate a First Republic Bank branch here.

When you speak with a representative either in person or via the phone you will need the following information to get your CD account open and funded:

• Full name (drivers license)
• Address
• Phone Number
• Email
• Social Security Number

To fund the account you will need the routing number and account number of the institution and bank account that you will be transferring the funds from. You can also mail them or hand them a check (if meeting in person).

Final Thoughts

First Republic Bank’s CD rates are, for the most part, still fairly uncompetitive in our rising interest rate environment.

That said, their short term CD specials like the 8 month and 11 month CD can compete with CD rates from some of the top online banks.

The steep deposit requirement of $10,000 is also much higher than other FDIC-insured online banks and nationally available credit unions.