The banks are pretty much the same. But the returns are worse. That’s the sorry story of our latest rankings of the best, nationally available 24-month CD rates.

In November our top-paying banks were offering 2-year certificates of deposit for 2.60% to 2.55% APY and you only needed a $1,000 minimum deposit to qualify for the top rate. This month you’ll earn 2.50% to 2.30% APY and need a whopping $50,000 to qualify for the top rate.

Although that’s still twice as much as you can make with the typical 2-year CD, it’s not saying much. The average rate on these CDs plunged to a record low of 1.26% APY last week.

The best, nationally available deals on 24-month CDs are:

2.50% APY with a minimum deposit of $50,000 for “Silver CDs” from Frontier Bank, which has 50 branches in Washington and Oregon. You can also earn 2.45% with a $25,000 minimum deposit and 2.40% with a $500 minimum deposit. Read the rest of this entry »