BankShout looks at the top annual percentage yields (APY) for 6-month certificate of deposit terms. Banks polled are U.S. national and Internet banks, and yields are current as of May 28, 2010. Banks in the survey are all insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

One of the last holdouts against rate cuts in recent months, 6-month certificates of deposit have fallen in recent days. Joining longer terms in this trend, 6-month CDs now look more like the rest of current consumer deposit trends, as banks dampen yields to improve profits.

The BankShout survey leader is still Aurora Bank. Aurora’s 6-month, $1000 minimum deposit certificate is at 1.26% APY, down from 1.27% in mid-May. Nexity Bank held its 6-month offering steady at 1.21% APY on $1000 minimum deposit, good for second place. NOVA Bank is third at 1.20% APY for deposits of at least $500, while newdominionDIRECT.com ranks fourth, with a half-year certificate at 1.17% APY for $3000 minimum.

Big yield cuts came courtesy of other banks. Discover Bank is advertising 1.15% APY on its 6-month CD; the minimum deposit $2500 account had been up to 1.20% APY back on May 14. Also slashing APY was Ally Bank, which cut its 6-month CD to 1.15% APY, down from 1.19% two weeks earlier.

As I wrote in mid-May, 6 month terms had stubbornly resisted rate cuts as banks seemed unwilling to offer lower yields on the already-battered short-term certificates. That trend seems to have ended for now. BankShout will keep you posted on this and other developments in consumer deposit yields.