Interest rate uncertainty has some banks pushing their longer-term certificate of deposit rates over 2.00% for a 2-year term. Among national and Internet-based banks, here are the top annual percentage yields (APY), current as of Thursday, April 22, 2010.

2-year certificate of deposit terms have brimmed the 2.00% APY mark, as banks attempt to attract longer-term customers amid interest rate uncertainty. Leading the way in this week’s BankShout survey is Aurora Bank FSB, which is advertising 2.01% APY for a 2-year term with a minimum deposit of $1000. American Express Bank FSB and Discover Bank, separately, are both offering 2.00% APY on the 24-month term. American Express requires no minimum deposit, while Discover’s deal is good on balances of $2500 or more.

Ally Bank is close behind 1.99% APY for a 2-year term, also with no minimum balance. Nexity Bank also offers 1.99% APY with a $1000 minimum balance.

The drop-off in yield among national and Internet banks can become steep: for instance, Capital One Direct Banking has an annual percentage yield of just 1.25% for a 2-year CD on minimum deposits of 1.25%. 2-year terms are averaging about 50 basis points higher than 1-year certificates. 5-year terms at some banks are currently above 3.00% APY.

Savers may be hesitant to lock up big deposit amounts for multi-year terms, but no one can tell if interest rates will rise anytime soon. Some countries like Australia and China, fearing inflation, have raised their federal interest rates. Yet everything I have read recently (The Economist, WSJ, etc.) indicates that the U.S. Fed is too concerned about the fragile U.S. economy to raise rates this year, likely affecting savings rates as a result.