APR vs. APY

It’s Thursday!

All this rate business on loans and CDs can be confusing! Well, I did some research and found a combination of definitions that I hope will help clarify the difference between APR and APY for you; I know it helped me. J  

APR stands for annual percentage rate. APR is used to describe the interest rate for a loan or line of credit applied for an entire year. It does not take compounded interest into account. APR is the rate, not the actual dollar amount of interest. APR refers to the interest rate for a payment period -- usually monthly -- multiplied by how many payment periods there are in a year.

APY stands for annual percentage yield.  APY is used to describe how much appreciation interest-bearing accounts and financial instruments like savings accounts and certificates will have over a year. It is the actual amount, expressed as a percentage. Annual percentage yield takes into account the compounded interest. APY standardizes varying interest-rate agreements into an annualized percentage number.

·         APR is a better measure of interest rates for debts and loans

·         APY is a better measure of interest rates for investments

Most important: when shopping for the lowest rates on a loan or the highest rates on a CD, always compare rates to rates and yields to yields.

If you have any questions or comments, don't hesitate to post below!

CRA

Are you interested in learning about what sort of financial information is available to you? Read on dear reader, read on.

To ensure financially sound practices, legislature passed the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). The CRA requires federal banking regulators to publicly evaluate and rate FDIC-insured banks and savings associations. A regulatory agency assesses a financial institutions’ history of helping to meet the credit needs of their communities in accordance with the CRA.

The financial institution’s regulatory agency prepares a written performance evaluation of its CRA activities including a CRA rating at the end of each CRA examination. This evaluation is made available to you as the CRA PE or Performance Evaluation.  The public file will contain the following:

·         The financial institution’s CRA

·         Performance Evaluation

·         Branch addresses and services available

·         Map of assessment area

·         Loan data information (for Large Banks)

·         Descriptions of efforts to improve performance (if rated less than satisfactory)

·         Written comments from the public

If you are interested in any of this information, you can walk into any FDIC-insured financial institution and simply ask for a copy of the CRA PE. It’s that easy!

Thank you!

Last Friday was a big hit! Thank you to all who attended and made our Open House and Ribbon Cutting Ceremony a success. The Drury Alumni Art Society appreciated your support. Also, congratulations to those who won door prizes! I hope you enjoyed yourself as much as we did.

President Michael Brady cutting the ribbon

Attendees enjoying the Downtown Friday Art Walk with Systematic Savings Bank

If you have yet to see the new store, stop by during our store hours: 8:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. Monday – Friday. We’d love to give you the tour!

Keep checking in on Thursdays for more informational blogs. If you have any questions or responses,  please feel free to comment below. I'd love to hear from you.

Ribbon Cutting and Open House

A happy Thursday to you readers! I hope you’re ready for the Downtown Friday Art Walk tomorrow, because we certainly are!!

The Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce Ambassadors will conduct a ribbon cutting ceremony tomorrow, Friday, April 6^th, at 4:00-6:00 p.m. for Systematic Savings Bank, located at 318 South Avenue in Springfield, Missouri.  We’ll be serving coffee and light hors d’oeuvres during the unveiling! The ceremony will be followed by an Open House. We invite you to attend both events!

We’ll be open from 6:00-10:00 p.m. for the Friday Art Walk and we’ve hung original art work from Drury art students throughout the bank for display. This is a wonderful opportunity for you to enjoy yourself and to get to know us, while also supporting our local students. Plus, I can’t possibly finish all these cookies by myself. J

Systematic Savings Bank has served the Springfield community for 89 years. Our newly remodeled store mirrors our newly remodeled products, services and ideas. Stop by Friday and come see everything for yourself! We’re eager to meet you.



Systematic Savings Bank

 Have questions about Systematic Savings, our blog, or general banking information? Leave a comment and I'll respond!