TO BUSINESS EDITOR:

NEW YORK, Dec. 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Investors hoping for better yields on money market accounts and certificates of deposit this holiday season are being disappointed. Investors are finding even lower yields now than they did one year ago. The average one-year CD yield is 1.15 percent according to Bankrate.com's weekly national survey of large depository institutions, down from 1.48 percent one year ago. Even the average five-year CD yield is down slightly, at 3.13 percent vs. 3.26 percent last year at this time.

           Deposit averages from Bankrate.com's national CD survey

             Money market account: 0.5%, unchanged from last week
              6-month CD yield: 0.93%, unchanged from last week
               1-year CD yield: 1.16%, up from 1.15% last week
               5-year CD yield: 3.13%, up from 3.11% last week

However, investors can do much better than the average by using Bankrate.com's rate tables to shop nationwide for their FDIC-insured money market accounts and certificates of deposit. This week, Bankrate.com found six institutions yielding at least 2 percent on money market accounts. Bankrate.com found five institutions paying at least 1.8 percent APY on six- month CDs, and nine institutions paying at least 2.1 percent on one-year CDs. All yields are available nationally to customers who do not have an existing relationship with the institution.

Bankrate.com conducts two surveys each week for money market accounts and CDs:

     * The 100 Highest Yields survey is conducted weekly to find the highest-
       yielding CD and money market accounts available to consumers
       nationwide.

     * Bankrate.com also conducts a weekly national CD survey, which compiles
       the rates from the largest banks and thrifts in each of the 10 largest
       U.S. markets to arrive at a national average.

To see data from Bankrate's 100 Highest Yields survey, go to www.bankrate.com and click on "CD/Savings."

About Bankrate, Inc.

Bankrate, Inc. (Nasdaq: RATE) owns and operates Bankrate.com, the Internet's leading consumer banking marketplace. Bankrate.com averages 4 million unique visitors per month, according to comScore Media Metrix, which ranks Bankrate.com first in unique visitors in the "Financial Information and Advice" category. Bankrate.com reviews more than 4,800 financial institutions in more than 300 markets in 50 states. Bankrate.com is a destination site of personal finance channels, including banking, investing, taxes and small business finance. It is the leading aggregator of more than 190 financial products, including mortgages, credit cards, new and used auto loans, money market accounts and CDs, checking and ATM fees, home equity loans and online banking fees. Bankrate.com provides financial applications and information to a network of more than 80 partners, including Yahoo! (Nasdaq: YHOO), America Online (NYSE: AOL), The Wall Street Journal (NYSE: DJ) and The New York Times (NYSE: NYT). Bankrate.com's information is also distributed through more than 100 national and state publications. The Company's stock is included in the Russell 3000 Index and the Russell 2000 Index.

For more information contact:

     Michal Jones
      x1337
     

     or

     Paula Sirois, PR for Bankrate, Inc.
      x1499
     

SOURCE  Bankrate, Inc.