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 ~86 branch and office locations in 8 states (California, Connecticut, Florida, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming) with most being centered in major metropolitan areas in California, New York and Massachusetts.

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 enter your state/region before it shows you current CD rates.

We’ve run the scenario for each state and region and were provided with the same CD rates across the board (per the time of this writing).

First Republic Bank has 13 CDs to choose from. They have 10 standard term CDs and 3 promotional CDs. The promotional CDs consist of a “60 Day Special, a “4 Month Special” and an “7 Month Special”.

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 1.54% APY and 1.37% APY, respectively according to recent FDIC data.

That said, a handful of FDIC-insured online banks and NCUA-insured credit unions are offering CDs with APYs above 5.00% and 4.50% for the same respective terms.

The 60 day special and the 5 month special are just like regular CDs but they come with a higher APY.

The 8 month liquid CD allows for partial withdrawals every 7 days but you must maintain the minimum balance of $10,000 until maturity.

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.

First Bank Republic’s CDs come with early withdrawal penalties if you need funds prior to the maturity of your CD.

We should also note that First Bank Republic’s early withdrawal penalties are more expensive than most other banks and credit unions.

Their 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).