Little known Alabama-based Umbrellabank.com leads this week’s 1-year CD rates. Umbrella is offering a 2.00% annual percentage yield (APY) 12-month certificate with a minimum deposit of just $1000. Umbrellabank.com is the Internet banking division of New South Federal Savings Bank, according to the bank’s website. Newdominiondirect.com was also offering a high rate on a 1-year certificate this week, with an APY of 1.92% on amounts of $3000 or more.

As previously reported on BankShout, depositors have become frustrated by stagnating CD rates. Internet banks, which have little overhead or operating costs, can often afford to pay higher interest rates and had been offering high-yield savings accounts; however, with the onset of the recession and the banking crisis, customers have seen those rates plummet. Some Internet banks ran into trouble during the crisis due to a lack of revenue from traditional banking fees, like those collected from checking accounts.

The way I see it, depositors may have to have just a little bit of patience still. Once the big banks, including Citigroup and Bank of America,  pay back their portions of the Troubled Asset Relief Funds, the banking system will have finally stabilized. (Commercial lending could still be a disaster in waiting, and one that could throw a big wrench into the banking works.) The good news for America’s savers is that interest rates could then be set to rise once again as the economy improves and the Federal Reserve targets inflation.