Amegy Bank Review includes an analysis of Amegy Bank, their high yield checking, money market, and savings accounts. Amegy is FDIC insured.

History of Amegy Bank

Amegy Bank is based in Texas where it has over 80 physical branches. They offer a huge range of products and  services in many different areas including personal banking,  business banking, treasury management, international banking, community or non-profit banking, capital markets, retirement products, and wealth management. Amegy Bank has been in business for over 18 years, so they are not  a fledgling bank. They are also a member of Zions Bancorporation collection of great banks, which has over 500 physical branches in ten states. Amegy Bank was formerly called the “Southwest Bank of Texas”, and after several mergers the bank changed its name to go along with its expanded service area. Amegy Bank is traded under the NASDAQ symbol of  ANBK. Amegy Bank is FDIC insured and they do offer online services, which is why Amegy Bank in included in Bank Truth’s list of bank reviews.  You can research them yourself by going to their website www.amegybank.com.

Products and Services Offered by Amegy

Personal Bank Accounts

High Interest Checking Accounts

In the area of personal banking, Amegy Bank offers all the products you would expect as well as several that you wouldn’t. You have six options to choose from when it comes to checking accounts alone. There is a basic checking account and then there are 5 other high interest checking accounts. All checking accounts have a minimum initial deposit of $50, offer free billpay, free check imaging, free telephone banking, free direct deposit and a free debit card. You can apply online for a free checking or a smart yield checking account.

3 Options for Savings Accounts

Three choices are available for savings accounts at Amegy Bank. They have dubbed these accounts: personal savings, high yield internet savings, and young savers. You can apply for their high yield savings accounts by using Amegy’s online banking services and application form. If you would like to compare what Amegy Bank is offering to other savings accounts please see our list of  reviewed savings accounts to find the best savings rates.

High Interest Money Markets

Amegy Bank has a variety of money market accounts but only one that can be opened online. The personal internet money market account features check writing features with a limited number of transactions allowed each month. This high interest money market account requires a minimum opening balance of $1,000. For more details please see Bank Truths post of Amegy money market account rates.

Certificate of Deposits (Normal and Jumbo)

Certificated of deposit are also a part of Amegy Bank’s offerings. They do have month cd rates, but you cannot open a CD account with a 30 day maturity term online. The only high interest cd offered online is Amegy’s personal internet cd. You choice of terms is limited to 3 months, 6 months, and one year. The minimum daily balance required to earn the disclosed APY rate is $1,ooo. Amegy also offers a jumbo personal certificate of deposit, if you have $100,ooo or more that you would like to invest. Even though they call it a jumbo personal internet cd, you need to call in order to set up this account. If you are interested in comparing rates for either of these online cd accounts, please see Amegy CD Accounts and compare the other Bank Truth’s reviews of best CD rates.

Other personal services include: IRAs, credit cards, loans, gift cards, and even a resource service for finding health insurance. There are a vast amount of products and services offered by Amegy bank but remember that only a small number can be applied for online.

Business Banking

There are four varieties of business checking accounts including an interest bearing account specifically for lawyers to hold clients funds. All interest earned from this very original business account is deposited directly to the Texas Equal Access to Justice Foundation. Unfortunately, you cannot apply for these accounts online. The forms to enroll your business into Amegy’s online business banking services are accessible online but they have to be printed, filled out, and mailed in.

For businesses, Amegy Bank has many of the same products and services that they offer their personal customers including: high interest savings, money market accounts, and cds. They also have business specific services such as merchant services, business lines of credit, employee direct deposits, and electronic tax payments. Amegy Bank also offers partnerships and resources for office supplies, payroll solutions, and health insurance. Again, the problem is, most of these products are not available with online applications.

Honestly, Amegy Bank’s focus seems to be on corporate banking and they offer some very unique services in this area. One example (under treasury management) is their payroll card, which offers business owners a way to be cost efficient and secure in offering their employees direct deposit.

Wealth Management & Investment Services

In the area of wealth management, Amegy Bank has so much to offer that it is essentially another whole review in itself. If you are particularly interested in this area, go to the wealth management website of Amegy Bank.

Amegy Bank has personal investment advisers, foreign exchange services, corporate investments, escrow accounts, corporate and private trust management.  Online customers will need to call Amegy Bank to get any of these services rolling.

Mortgage and Real Estate

Amegy Bank does list their bank owner properties online for potential buyers to peruse which is a nice addition that many banks do not offer yet. Purchase and refinance mortgages can be applied for completely online. Holding true to their business focus, Amegy Bank also offers mortgage and real estate services for commercial and construction loans in addition to residential loans.

Summary of Amegy Bank Review

Amegy Bank is a large, established bank  that by all appearances is trying to branch out into the online banking scene. As a physical bank, they offer a plethora of services with a definite corporate focus; however, as an online bank they offer a much smaller range of choices. Please make sure that you compare APY rates with other online banks. A bank that is great in person is not always the best bank for online banking. Also be aware of the fine print. Some of their high interest checking accounts have good APY rates, but far too many requirements for the customer to fulfill if you are looking for simplicity in banking.

Amegy Bank Review, 4.3 out of 5 based on 7 ratings