WSJ on JPM's $5 Million 6% CD
The Wall Street Journal asks, "Want This 6% CD? You Have to Have $5 Million." The article states, "JPMorgan Chase has got a deal for you -- if you have an extra $5 million lying around. The New York bank, the largest in the U.S., is offering customers of its private bank division a 6% rate on a six-month certificate of deposit if they put $5 million or more into the product. JPMorgan isn't exactly hurting for deposits. But like other banks, its overall deposits have declined since the Federal Reserve started raising interest rates in early 2022. Special rate offers are a bid to keep wealthy customers happy -- and maybe earn more of their business." It tells us, "Mass-market customers shouldn't expect the same. JPMorgan is paying 5% to retail banking customers who put in $100,000 or more for the same period, according to its website. Customers who put in less than $100,000 can earn 4%. The bank's basic interest-bearing checking and savings accounts still pay just 0.01%. Funds have to come from outside of JPMorgan to qualify for the 6% rate, the bank said. Other banks are advertising six-month CDs paying 5% or more." The Journal adds, "The Fed's steep rate increases changed that picture. By the start of this year, wealthy customers in particular were moving their extra cash into Treasurys and money-market funds for higher rates. Over the past year, deposits in JPMorgan's asset and wealth management unit have fallen 22%, far more than overall deposits. Wealth deposits are also down by double digits at competitors Bank of America and Wells Fargo. Banks are generally paying between 4% and 5% on new wealth-management deposits compared with around 2.5% to land regular customers' deposits, said Adam Stockton, a managing director at Curinos, a firm that tracks data including deposit rates. He said a 6% rate is very rare."
