Certificate of deposit the United States |Federal Reserve
System| |Deposit account insurance| |Electronic funds transfer
(EFT)| |Check clearing system| |Types of bank charter| CDs are
similar to savings accounts in that they are insured and thus
virtually riskfree; they are "money in the bank". CDs are
insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) for
banks and by the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) for
credit unions. They are different from savings accounts in that
the CD has a specific, fixed term (often monthly, three months,
six months, or one to five years), and, usually, a fixed
interest rate. It is intended that the CD be held until
maturity, at which time the money may be withdrawn together with
the accrued interest. In exchange for keeping the money on
deposit for the agreed-on term, institutions usually grant
higher interest rates than they do on accounts from which money
may be withdrawn on demand, although this may not be the case in
an inverted yield curve situation. Fix