New York Community Bank’s online arm is paying the nation’s highest interest rate

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New York Community Bank, the regional lender that needed a $1 billion-plus lifeline last month, is offering the country's highest interest rate for a savings account.

NYCB raised the annual percentage yield offered via its online arm, My Banking Direct, to 5.55%, higher than any other bank's widely available account, according to Ken Tumin, an analyst who tracks rates for his website DepositAccounts.

The standout rate could be a sign that NYCB is facing funding pressure, Tumin said.

«It looks like they're trying really hard to attract deposits,» Tumin said. «My Banking Direct has been around for a long time, more than 10 years, so them having an aggressive rate could be a sign of neediness» for funding.

NYCB's woes began in January, when it said it was preparing for far greater losses on commercial real estate loans than analysts had expected. That set off a downward spiral in its stock price, downgrades from rating agencies and multiple management changes. The bank announced a capital injection from investors led by former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin's Liberty Strategic Capital on March 6.

In the month before the rescue was announced, NYCB shed 7% of its deposits, falling to $77.2 billion by March 5, the bank said in a presentation.

During a conference call held after the capital raise, analysts asked how NYCB managed to retain so much of its deposits during the tumultuous period.

«We didn't do anything crazy relative to deposit pricing,» NYCB chairman Sandro DiNello replied. «We didn't go out and offer 6% CDs or something like that in order to make the numbers look good, if that's what you're concerned with.»

NYCB didn't return a call for comment on its funding strategy.

Joseph Otting, a former