What is the minimum balance required to open an NSB Certificate of Deposit (CD)?

$1,000 is the minimum balance required to open an NSB Certificate of Deposit. If you withdraw some of your funds before maturity and the balance falls below $1,000, you must close your account.

Does my NSB CD automatically renew?

Yes, this account will automatically renew at maturity. You will have 10 calendar days after the maturity date to withdraw funds or change the term without penalty.

What are the transaction limits for my NSB CD?

$500 is the minimum additional deposit for terms less than one year, and no additional deposits are allowed for terms one year or greater. (Varies by account. See account disclosure for details.)

What happens if I withdraw from my NSB CD’s principal prior to maturity?

$500 is the minimum you may withdraw from principal. We may impose a penalty if you withdraw any of the principal before the maturity date. The penalty will equal:

  • 3-months interest on the amount withdrawn if the term is less than 6 months.
  • 6-months interest on the amount withdrawn if the term is 6 to 12 months.
  • 12-months interest on the amount withdrawn if the term is greater than one year.
What are the advantages of a traditional IRA?

Here are some of the main advantages of traditional IRAs.

  • Tax Advantages: Unlike most investments, the interest earned on a Traditional IRA is not taxable in the year it is received. Your IRA earnings are not subject to taxation until they are removed from the account.
  • Power of Compounding: This tax deferment allows your savings to grow faster and is perhaps the greatest long-term benefit of the Traditional IRA. Tax deferral on gains leaves more money in the account to compound, allowing an investment to grow larger than it would if taxes were paid along the way.
  • Up-front Tax Breaks: Some investors are permitted to deduct IRA contributions from their federal income tax (depending on their eligibility).
  • Special Purpose Withdrawals: Withdrawals may be made from a Traditional IRA without tax penalty by individuals under the age of 59 ½ for certain qualified purposes.

As in any tax situation, consult with your tax advisor, review IRS Pub 590 or consult the IRS website.

What are the advantages of a Roth IRA?

Here are some of the main advantages of Roth IRAs.

  • Tax Advantages: Although contributions are not tax deductible, the earnings do accumulate tax free. Deposits are taxed up front, but the future payoff could be greater.
  • Extra Withdrawal Options: After five years with a Roth, qualified homebuyers can withdraw up to $10,000 per lifetime before age 59 ½, tax-free for a first-time home purchase.
  • Liberal Eligibility Rules: You cannot be prevented from opening one just because you are covered by a retirement plan at work or contribute to a self-employment plan such as a Keogh account. And if a child earned $3,000, a parent could put $3,000 into a Roth IRA for a child.
  • Wholly Tax-free Withdrawals: Roth IRAs can also be an estate-planning tool—with no mandatory withdrawal age, funds can compound for a heir.

As in any tax situation, consult with your tax advisor, review IRS Pub 590 or consult the IRS website.

How do I make a loan payment?

We offer several ways to make a loan payment.

  1. If you are set up with online banking, log in at nsvbt.com or NSB mobile app and click "make a payment"
  2. Mail your payment to Northfield Savings Bank, PO Box 7180, Barre VT 05641
  3. Visit your local Northfield Savings Bank branch
Is there a penalty to pay my personal loan off early?

We do not assess any penalties for paying off any type of NSB loan before the term is up.

How are interest rates determined?

Interest rates fluctuate based on a variety of factors, including inflation, the pace of economic growth, and Federal Reserve policy. Over time, inflation has the largest influence on the level of interest rates. A modest rate of inflation will almost always lead to low interest rates, while concerns about rising inflation normally cause interest rates to increase. Our nation's central bank, the Federal Reserve, implements policies designed to keep inflation and interest rates relatively low and stable.

What is an adjustable rate mortgage?

An adjustable rate mortgage, or an "ARM" as they are commonly called, is a loan type which offers a lower initial interest rate than most fixed rate loans. The trade off is the interest rate can change periodically, usually in relation to an index, and the monthly payment will go up or down accordingly.

Against the advantage of the lower payment at the beginning of the loan, you should weigh the risk an increase in interest rates would lead to higher monthly payments in the future. It is a trade-off. You get a lower rate with an ARM in exchange for assuming more risk.

Below is some information explaining how ARM's work.

Adjustment Period

With most ARMs, the interest rate and monthly payment are fixed for an initial time period such as one year, three years, five years, or seven years. After the initial fixed period, the interest rate can change every year. For example, with a five-year ARM, the interest rate will not change for the first five years (the initial adjustment period) but can change every year after the first five years.

Index

Our ARM interest rate changes are tied to changes in an index rate. Using an index to determine future rate adjustments provides you with assurance that rate adjustments will be based on actual market conditions at the time of the adjustment. The current value of most indices is published weekly in the Wall Street Journal. If the index rate moves up so does your mortgage interest rate, and you will probably have to make a higher monthly payment. On the other hand, if the index rate goes down your monthly payment may decrease.

Margin

To determine the interest rate on an ARM, we will add a pre-disclosed amount to the index called the "margin." If you are still shopping, comparing one lender's margin to another's may be more important than comparing the initial interest rate, since it will be used to calculate the interest rate you will pay in the future.

Interest-Rate Caps

An interest-rate cap places a limit on the amount your interest rate can increase or decrease. There are two types of caps:

  1. Periodic or adjustment caps limit the interest rate increase or decrease from one adjustment period to the next.
  2. Overall or lifetime caps limit the interest rate increase over the life of the loan.

As you can imagine, interest rate caps are very important since no one knows what may happen in the future. All of the ARMs we offer have both adjustment and lifetime caps. Please see each product description for full details.

Negative Amortization

"Negative Amortization" occurs when your monthly payment changes to an amount less than the amount required to pay interest due. If a loan has negative amortization, you might end up owing more than you originally borrowed. None of the ARMs we offer allow for negative amortization.

Prepayment Penalties

Some lenders may require you to pay special fees or penalties if you pay off the ARM early. We never charge a penalty for prepayment.

Contact a Mortgage Banking Officer

Selecting a mortgage may be the most important financial decision you will make and you are entitled to all the information you need to make the right decision. Please feel free to contact a Mortgage Banking Officer if you have questions about the features of our adjustable rate mortgages.