Salem Five is a full service financial services company that got its roots in New England (Salem, to be exact) in 1855 as a savings bank.
They’re a mutually owned bank with no stockholders and are federally insured by the FDIC.
They were one of the early adopters of the internet and online banking, opening their virtual doors in 1995.
Today they offer a plethora of online banking products that are available nationwide. For the purpose of this review we will focus on Salem Five Direct’s fixed rate certificates of deposit. They offer several standard term CDs, IRA CDs and special CDs with some noteworthy APYs (annual percentage yields).
To see if these deposit accounts are right for you, continue reading about their offers below.
Salem Five Bank CD Rates + Account Details
Salem Five Bank has three types of CDs available to customers online. All of the products are federally insured by the FDIC up to the applicable limits.
The three types of CDs offered are:
- Regular CDs
- IRA CDs
- Special CDs
The minimum deposit requirements on these products range from $500 to $10,000. See below for details.
Regular CD Rates
Salem Five Bank offers ten ‘regular’ CDs with terms offered in ranges. These ranges can be as little as 3 – 6 months to as long as 5 years.
| CD Term | Min. Deposit | APY |
| 91 – 181 days | $2,500 | 0.05% |
| 182 – 364 days | $2,500 | 0.05% |
| 12 – 17 months | $500 | 0.25% |
| 18 – 23 months | $500 | 0.25% |
| 24 – 29 months | $500 | 0.25% |
| 30 – 35 months | $500 | 0.35% |
| 36 – 41 months | $500 | 0.35% |
| 42 – 59 months | $500 | 0.50% |
| 60 months | $500 | 0.50% |
| 9 Month No Penalty* | $10,000 | 0.05% |
*The 9 month no penalty CD is not available as an IRA CD.
To give the yields above some context, the current national average on a 12 month CD and a 60 month CD sit at just 1.28% APY and 1.21% APY, respectively, according to FDIC data.
If you’re looking for a higher yield when compared to the national average, you might want to check out Salem Five Bank’s special CDs (rates below).
Salem Five rotates new CD specials in and out of its deposit account suite fairly often, so you may want to bookmark this page as we do our best to update rates and products in a timely manner.
Special CD Rates
Salem Five Bank has seven CD specials at the moment. These all come with standard terms ranging from 12 months to 5 years and a higher minimum deposit requirement of $10,000.
| CD Term | Min. Deposit | APY |
| 6 month | $10,000 | 3.00% |
| 9 month | $10,000 | 3.00% |
| 12 month | $10,000 | 3.00% |
| 18 month | $10,000 | 3.00% |
| 24 month | $10,000 | 3.25% |
| 30 month | $10,000 | 2.00% |
| 36 month | $10,000 | 2.00% |
| 48 month | $10,000 | 2.25% |
| 60 month | $10,000 | 2.25% |
As mentioned, the current national average for a 12 month and a 60 month CD sit at 1.28% and 1.21% APY, respectively, however, some of the best yields for 1 year CDs and 5 year CDs are now over 4.75% and 4.25% APY for the same respective terms.
If you are looking to keep certificates of deposit in your IRA, then Salem Five Bank may be a good place to go. Below are their “Retirement CD” rates. These come in the form of regular CD and “Special” CDs.
Retirement CD Rates
| CD Term | Min. Deposit | APY |
| 3 months | $500 | 0.05% |
| 6 months | $500 | 0.05% |
| 12 – 17 months | $500 | 0.25% |
| 18 – 23 months | $500 | 0.25% |
| 24 – 29 months | $500 | 0.25% |
| 30 – 35 months | $500 | 0.35% |
| 36 – 41 months | $500 | 0.35% |
| 42 – 59 months | $500 | 0.50% |
| 60 months | $500 | 0.50% |
| 6 month special | $2,000 | 3.00% |
| 9 month special | $2,000 | 3.00% |
| 12 month special | $2,000 | 4.75% |
| 18 month special | $2,000 | 3.00% |
| 24 month special | $2,000 | 3.25% |
| 30 month special | $2,000 | 2.00% |
| 36 month special | $2,000 | 2.00% |
| 48 month special | $2,000 | 2.25% |
| 60 month special | $2,000 | 2.25% |
The IRA CDs listed above are only available for individual retirement accounts.
Compounding and Crediting Interest
Salem Five Bank CDs feature monthly compounding interest. Earned interest is also credited to your account monthly. This is less competitive than most banks’ compounding schedule which generally feature daily compounding interest.
Grace Period
All CD account holders have a standard grace period of 10 days in which you may add or withdraw funds from your CD penalty free.
Salem Five will send out a maturity notice for your CD, but be sure to set your own reminders as well. If nothing is done during this 10 day period, Salem Five Bank will renew your CD with the same terms and the going rate at that time.
Please note that you will need to instruct Salem Five Bank in writing how to handle your funds on or prior to the maturity date if you do not wish to have the account renewed.
If you have a “Special CD” and do nothing during the grace period, these accounts will renew into standard term CDs.
Here’s how they will transfer:
| Existing Special CD | Renewed to Regular CD |
| 12 – 17 months | 12 month |
| 18 – 23 months | 18 month |
| 24 – 29 months | 24 month |
| 30 – 35 months | 30 month |
| 36 – 41 months | 36 month |
| 42 – 59 months | 42 month |
| 60 months | 60 month |
Early Withdrawal Fees
If you need funds prior to the maturity of your CD, Salem Five Bank will impose an early withdrawal fee.
Currently the penalty is equal to 4 percent of the balance withdrawn.
If the amount of the penalty exceeds the amount of earned interest that has not already been paid to you, Salem Five Bank may deduct some of the penalty from your principal.