The rates for jumbo certificates of deposit, which require balances of at least $100,000, have fallen slightly in the last several weeks. Savers looking for the highest yields often seek out jumbo 5-year certificates; the return on the 60-month terms are often the highest annual percentage yields (APY) offered by banks. BankShout looks at the top jumbo CD rates as of February 23, 2010:

Holding the top spot from a couple of weeks ago, EverBank is offering 3.41% APY on its 5-year jumbo CD. This is down a bit from earlier in February, when the Jacksonville, Florida-based bank was advertising 3.45% for the same term. OneWest Bank FSB maintains the number two spot with 3.30% APY for a 5-year jumbo. USAA comes in third on this week’s BankShout list of top rates; USAA maintains its jumbo rate from earlier in the month, at 3.21% APY for a 60-month CD.

Discover Bank has also maintained its jumbo rate, at 3.20% APY, while Nationwide Bank cut its 5-year APY to 3.10%. Nationwide had been offering 3.20% on jumbos earlier in February. Ally Bank held its jumbo CD rate at 3.15% APY. AIG Bank, part of the troubled insurance company that was the subject of a widely-scorned government bailout, has a 5-year jumbo CD term at 3.05%.

Financial markets buzzed this past week as the Federal Reserve raised its “discount” rate, or the rate that the Fed charges banks for emergency loans. Although the discount window isn’t being used much by banks at this point, some in the news media wondered if further rate-raises were on the way. For its part, the Fed insists that it is going to keep the federal funds rate low for “an extended period.” As I’ve been telling BankShout readers all along, sadly this means that the deposit rates you see aren’t going to go up much, anytime soon.