Mechanics Bank Review

Mechanics Bank Personal Savings Account

0.05% APY

Mechanics Bank was founded back in 1905, earning its name from working with Standard Oil and the Santa Fe Railroad. The bank spread throughout the Bay Area over the years, eventually adding branches in southern California and Oregon. 

Mechanics Bank offers a variety of financial products and services for personal, business and wealth management purposes. In terms of banking, you can find accounts ranging from a simple savings account to a flexible certificate of deposit, allowing you to find the accounts that really work best for you. Just be careful of the potentially high minimum deposits that come with Mechanics Bank accounts. 

It’s also important to note that you cannot find the bank’s interest rates online. You’ll need to visit or call your nearby branch for the most accurate rates.

Products Offered

Mechanics Bank Interest Rate Comparison

Personal Savings Account

For easy saving, Mechanics Bank offers its Personal Savings account. It distributes statements quarterly. You can set up automatic transfers to and from this account for easier money management. You can also use this account for overdraft protection on your Mechanics Bank checking account.

Custom Investment Certificate of Deposit, 9-Month Liquid Certificate of Deposit and One-Step Certificate of Deposit (CDs)

Mechanics Bank offers a variety of Custom Investment Certificate of Deposit terms, ranging from seven days to five years. This wide range allows you to save toward both long-term and short- term goals whether that’s your mortgage down payment or your next vacation. 

Mechanics Bank also provides a couple of special CDs. The first is the 9-Month Liquid Certificate of Deposit. CDs are typically more structured and stricter savings accounts, where you can’t access your money after opening until the account matures. This means you can’t withdraw or make any additional deposits during the term. If you absolutely need to make a withdrawal, you’ll face a pretty heavy penalty. The 9-Month Liquid Certificate of Deposit bends these rules by allowing you to withdraw funds after seven days without facing a penalty. 

The other special account is the One-Step Certificate of Deposit. This account lasts for 18 months and locks in the rate you have at opening. Then unlike a typical CD, this account allows you to bump up your rate at any point during its term. This comes in handy when interest rates increase. You can only boost your rate once, though. 

Personal Money Market Account

Money market accounts work like a mix between savings and checking accounts. The Personal Money Market account earns at better interest rates according to balance tiers, where higher balances earn higher rates. Then like a checking account, it also includes check-writing abilities so you can more easily access your funds. 

There is a smaller deposit for this money market account than either the savings or checking accounts. 

Platinum Market Rate Account

If you thought the Money Market Plus account had a high minimum deposit, the Platinum Market Rate account is for even higher balances. With this higher balance, you can earn at even higher rates. You’ll also still have the ability to write checks from this account. 

When you open a Platinum Market Rate account, you’ll also need to open a non-interest bearing personal checking account. 

Smart & Easy Checking Account

This Smart & Easy Checking account will work best for customers aged 62 or over, with higher balances or with monthly direct deposits. These are the easiest ways to waive the $12 monthly fee which can cut into your savings, especially over the course of the year. 

The Smart & Easy Checking account doesn’t really come with any extra perks. The main extra benefit here is the $3 rebate in ATM fees that you can receive each month.

Smart & Easy Plus Checking Account

Even though the minimum deposit is the same as the Smart & Easy Checking account, you’ll need a much higher balance with the Smart & Easy Plus checking account in order to waive the pretty high monthly fee. Having a higher balance here will also work better for you by earning more in interest. 

In terms of ATM rebates, you can receive up to $9 rebate per month. 

Basic Checking Account

As you can tell by its name, the Basic Checking account offers an easy and simple approach to checking. It requires the lowest amount to deposit at $1000. There’s a low monthly fee that you can easily waive by using the account as your primary account or simply by being a certain age. 

Branch Locations 

Largely a northern California bank, Mechanics Bank has locations throughout the state of California and two locations in Oregon. 

You can also access over 24,000 MoneyPass ATMs throughout the country for free. 

Financial Statistics & Bank Health Rating

Mechanics Bank has $5.64 billion in assets and $4.33 billion in loans, according to the FDIC. Additionally, its customers hold $4.18 billion in deposits with the bank.

If you want to add your money to this deposit amount, but are unsure about the bank’s safety, you just need to look at its Texas Ratio. This ratio indicates how at risk the bank is of covering its bad debts. Luckily, Mechanics Bank has an excellent Texas Ratio of 1.48%. For reference, banks with a score higher than 90% are considered poor and pose a high risk.  The Texas Ratio is calculated by dividing the amount of non-performing assets (unbacked current loans and real estate owned) by the sum of the bank’s tangible equity capital and its loan loss allowances.