This rate move causes AloStar to take the lead over Sallie Mae Bank who offers a rate of 1.20% APY with no minimum balance.

To get the 1.21% rate from AloStar Bank of Commerce, you will need to deposit a minimum of $1,000.

Since the middle of August there have been multiple rate changes, most of them have been cuts. Even AloStar had cut its interest rate on their 12 month CD by a tenth of a percentage point but now has increased their rate back to the top of the list.

Here are the next best 12 month CDs being offered:

• Sallie Mae Bank is the online bank of the student loan company pays 1.20% APY with no minimum deposit.
• MainStreet Bank, based out of Virginia but sells its CDs nationally through their (www.airbanking.com) website pays 1.16% APY with a minimum deposit of $500.
• Virtual Bank, the online bank of Sabadell United Bank out of Miami Florida offers 1.16% APY with a minimum deposit of $10,000.

So far interest rates have continued their overall downward fall, but for how long? No one really knows when interest rates will increase. If you keep watching, some banks offer promotions which come and go as quickly as interest rates have been decreasing. Last year we watched iGoBanking offer some of the best interest rates on CDs and their promotions would only last 2-3 days at a time.

Our CD rate table offers a look at some of the better CD rates on the market today. Be sure to check back often as rates can change at a moments notice.

This might be a sign of things to come as rates continue their slide down the charts. No other bank or financial institution is close to paying 2% on any 24 month CD. Keep in mind that the national average of a 2 year CD is sitting right around 0.77% APY.

Here are the next best 2 Year certificates of deposit:

• Melrose Credit Union at 1.76% APY with a minimum deposit of $5,000 and is located in Queens, NY.
• Presidential Bank at 1.75% APY with a minimum deposit of $1,000 and is located in Maryland, Virginia and Washington D.C.
• Bank of Internet at 1.72% APY with a minimum deposit of $1,000 and is an online bank from San Diego, CA.
• Discover Bank at 1.65% APY with a minimum deposit of $2,500 and is the online bank owned by the credit card company.

All of these banks and credit union allows anyone to join or buy their CDs. Melrose Credit union allows anyone to join for only $1. They impose no restrictions and are located out of Queens, New York.

Be sure to compare all of the best CD rates from our certificates of deposit database.

If you are looking at getting into a CD, it might be best to hold off and wait for the CD rates to increase in 2011, which is only a speculative guess and should not be taken as fact. Any long term Certificate of Deposit might be a bad idea now that rates are so low.

Always consult a certified financial adviser when making any decisions.

You can always view the latest CD rates from our database of banks and other financial institutions that we follow from our CD rates page.