Earn up to 1.85% with May’s top 5-year CD rates
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There's a new front-runner in our May survey of the best nationally available 5-year CD rates.
You can now take home 1.85% APY from Green Bank with a modest $1,000 minimum deposit.
National Republic Bank of Chicago topped our late March survey, paying a slightly higher 1.87% APY. But since then, National Republic has lowered its return, dropping out of our rankings of the top-10 deals and pushing Green Bank to the top.
The average return on 5-year CDs has continued to fall this year, according to Mike Sante, the managing editor of Interest.com. It started 2013 at 0.90% APY and has dropped to a new record low of 0.79% APY.
"That's why savers have got to take advantage of the top-paying deals," Sante says. "Rates are just terrible, and if you're going to commit your money for five years, you've got to squeeze every cent you can out of your CDs."
The Federal Reserve has driven savings rates to record lows and plans to keep them there until the unemployment rate falls to 6.5%.
Unemployment is moving in the right direction, declining to a four-year low of 7.5% in the April jobs report released today.
Although there's still a long way to go to reach the Fed's magic number, Sante says "anyone who buys a 5-year CD this spring has every right to expect interest rates will be higher by the time it matures in 2018."
Here are the best nationally available 60-month certificates of deposit, as of today:
Top 5-year CD Rates
| Bank | APY | Minimum Deposit |
| Green Bank | 1.85% | $1,000 |
| Barclays | 1.75% | No minimum |
| CIT Bank | 1.70% | $1,000 |
| GE Capital | 1.60% | $25,000 |
| First Internet Bank of Indiana | 1.60% | $1,000 |
| Bank of Internet | 1.60% | $1,000 |
| Nationwide Bank | 1.60% | $500 |
| NexBank | 1.60% | $10,000 |
| AloStar | 1.55% | $1,000 |
| Discover Bank | 1.55% | $2,500 |
To qualify for this list, a bank must allow savers from all 50 states to buy its certificates of deposit online or through the mail.
Click here to compare these returns with the top CD rates from dozens of banks in your area.
Our CD calculator will help you figure out the interest you'll earn, for any term, amount and interest rate.
How to buy the top 5-year CD rates
| Bank | Description | URL |
| Green Bank | An eco-friendly bank with 12 locations in Texas. | www.greenbank.com |
| Barclays | The online American operation of the big British bank. | www.banking.barclaysus.com |
| CIT Bank | The online consumer bank of CIT Group Inc., which offers financing to small businesses and middle-market companies. | www.bankoncit.com |
| GE Capital Retail Bank | An online bank which is a subsidiary of GE Capital Corp. | banking.gecrb.com |
| First Internet Bank of Indiana | An online bank located in Indianapolis. | www.firstib.com |
| Bank of Internet USA | The online division of BofI Federal Bank, which has a single location in San Diego. | www.bankofinternet.com |
| Nationwide Bank | An online bank owned by Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company and its affiliates. | www.nationwide.com |
| NexBank | A division of NexBank Capital Inc. with two branches in the Dallas area. | www.nexbank.com |
| AloStar Bank of Commerce | An online bank based in Birmingham, Ala., formerly known as Nexity Bank. | retail.alostarbank.com |
| Discover Bank | An online bank owned by the credit card company. | www.discover.com |
Nervous savers have also pulled billions of dollars out of the stock market and flooded banks with cash.
Consumer savings in bank accounts, excluding business and institutional accounts, had grown to $8.2 trillion by the end of last year, up from $3.8 trillion in December 2001, according to Market Rates Insight Inc. in San Anselmo, Calif.
That's much more money than they have been willing to lend out.
Data compiled by SNL Financial of Charlottesville, Va., show that deposits continue to grow more quickly than loans during the third quarter of 2012.
Banks were able to loan out only 72.4% of their deposits, down from more than 93.0% in early 2008, when the financial crisis was just beginning.
As a result, savers have seen the returns on their CDs, savings and money market accounts drop to nearly nothing. The banks don't need, or even want, any more of our money.
Dismayed investors could only watch as the average return on 5-year CDs fell from 3.13% APY on Dec. 16, 2008, when the federal funds rate was cut to zero, to the 0.79% APY we have today.
Contributing editor Darci Swisher contributed to this report.
Follow Mitch Strohm on Google Plus.
