CD Valet's September CD Rate Analysis Reveals Accelerated Decline in CD Rates Following Federal Reserve Action

CD rate yield curve continues to be inverted, as volume of rate changes doubles from August

SEATTLE, Oct. 2, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- CD Valet is a digital marketplace that connects consumers with the best CD rates and terms nationwide, helping community financial institutions effectively attract new deposits. The company today shared that approximately 91% of CD rate changes made during September were decreases, reflecting the Federal Open Market Committee's (FOMC) recent .25% reduction in interest rates.

"While savers might have missed the high point in this interest rate cycle, there is still a window of opportunity," says Mary Grace Roske, head of marketing and communications for CD Valet.  "While the best time to lock in a rate was yesterday, the second-best time is today. As high-yield savings and money markets could fall substantially by year-end, now is a good time to lock in a fixed-rate CD."

Only 9% of CD rate changes were increases during the month, continuing the downward trend from June, July and August which saw the volume of rate hikes at 42%, 36% and 26% respectively.

In its monthly Ratewatcher report, CD Valet analyzes its digital marketplace which includes all CDs offered by financial institutions that publish their CD rates online. This analysis is based on CD Valet's comprehensive data which includes more than 38,000 retail CD rates, representing nearly 5,000 banks and credit unions.

There were 5,662 CD APY decreases in September (four times as many as in August), and the average drop was 25 basis points. This compares to 574 CD APY increases reported during the month (up from 468 in August), averaging 45 basis points. This shows that while the majority of institutions are decreasing CD rates, some are taking advantage of this opportunity to drive deposits by increasing their competitive position with compelling rates.

Roske reports that banks and credit unions are pulling back on the "promo" CD offers, instead sticking more with the tried-and-true standard terms. With rates declining, she said, CD Valet expects to see fewer promo offers with terms shorter than 12 months.

While the CD yield curve remains inverted, many expect it to flatten heading into late 2025 and early 2026, as the Fed's anticipated rate cuts begin to take hold and short-term yields fall faster, allowing the curve to normalize. This shift would reflect growing confidence that inflation is cooling and signal a return to more typical reward-for-term dynamics in the savings landscape.

Other points of note from the September analysis include:

• Of the institutions that increased CD rates, approximately 60% were credit unions while approximately 40% were banks, in line with trends from recent months.
• The average credit union CD APY was approximately 17% higher than average bank CD APY.

"The CD market is currently in flux, with the number of rate changes in September – including both positive and negative shifts – more than doubling what they were in August," said Roske. "For savers, a declining rate environment often means that the best time to lock in a CD rate is now – after careful comparison. For banks and credit unions, this provides a unique opportunity to attract deposits by going against the grain and offering more attractive rates. Those that are intentional about their deposit pricing and visibility strategy will come out on top."

Consumers can take advantage of easy and free tools to help them research and compare rates. For example, CD Valet just launched the Best CD Rates by State Map, an interactive map of the U.S. that displays the top CD rates from banks and credit unions by state in real time, helping consumers find the best rates to maximize earnings on their savings

About CD Valet 

CD Valet is a digital marketplace that connects consumers with top CD rates from banks and credit unions nationwide and enables financial institutions to efficiently and cost-effectively attract retail deposits. With CD Valet, banks and credit unions are empowered to digitally compete with the largest financial institutions, while consumers gain greater visibility and access to better rates. CD Valet offers over 38,000 CD rates, interest calculators and comparison tools for consumers and financial institutions can use its full suite of advertising, analytics, and account opening tools to support deposit acquisition. Visit www.cdvalet.com for more information and check out CD Valet's Best CD Rates by State Map to maximize earnings on savings. 

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cd-valets-september-cd-rate-analysis-reveals-accelerated-decline-in-cd-rates-following-federal-reserve-action-302573783.html

SOURCE CD Valet