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Attention former Rosemount National Bank/Central Bank customers:

Your deposit accounts have been sold by Central Bank to Merchants Bank.  You can no longer log into your rosemountbank.com internet banking account.  Please visit merchantsbank.com for more information about Merchants Bank acquisition of the Rosemount branch and deposits, or call the Rosemount branch at 651-423-5000.  Please note, this only affects customers that became Central Bank customers following the acquisition of Rosemount National Bank in April of 2011.

We have been notified that several Central Bank customers have been sent messages about a security breach and "suspicious activity at Centralbnk.com." These reports are untrue and all examples of Phishing Attacks. Here was the message sent to some customers recently. This is a clear example of phishing: the message was not generated by the bank so do not click on the button to access their credit report. The credit report link would likely ask you to provide personal information that would then be available to the people who are trying to scam you.

Many phishing attempts happen to our customers everyday so please read over our Protect Yourself page and if you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact your local branch. Genuine banks and organizations will NOT contact you by e-mail to request confidential and personal information. If a bank or organization sends you a genuine request for some information, they should address you by name and not refer to you as "account holder" or "customer". If you receive an e-mail, phone call or other message supposedly from your bank or another organization requesting your personal details, delete the message or hang up your phone. Even if the e-mail or message urges you to act quickly, do not panic—this is just a trick to make you respond immediately without giving you a chance to talk to others or to check if it is a scam. Always check with someone at the bank first before you believe a concerning message you receieved about your account.

The importance of a savings account

Everyone should open a savings account at some point in their lives. The earlier the better but better late than never as they say. People underestimate the importance of savings or aren’t taught of the benefits from an early age. It’s often due to lack of savings in people’s bank accounts that economies undergo a crisis phase. If more people saved there would be more stability in the economy. Here are some reasons why it’s so important for you to keep a savings account and ensure there’s always money in it.

Savings can help you learn money management from the first pay check. Putting a few dollars or a few hundred dollars each week or month will teach you to live on less and manage your money. If you know that 20% has to go into savings each month you’ll know that you’ve only got 80% of your take home income to spend.

A savings account can stop you from living pay check to pay check. Unfortunately a large number of people don’t put money away into their savings account each month and are always short before pay day. By keeping a regular savings account even if you’re only depositing $10 each pay check it will help you to stop spending everything you earn. You can always increase the amount by a dollar or more each month.

Having a savings account gives you a record of savings. If you are applying for a loan or mortgage having a savings account that has been regularly topped up will give you a leg up when you’re applying for credit. It shows the bank that you are responsible with your money and they will be able to trust that you’ll make the monthly repayments.

You want to have a safety net for when times get tough. An emergency, accident, or losing a job can place a strain on finances. A savings account can make things a little easier at least from a financial point of view. You don’t want to be worrying about where you’re going to get the money if you have to suddenly travel, move or your front tooth falls out.

A topped up savings account can give you financial freedom. Financial freedom means having enough to live off and enough in savings so that you don’t have to worry about unexpected costly surprises. It doesn’t matter whether you’re 18 or 40, opening a savings account and depositing a little bit in it each month will give you control over your finances and give you peace of mind.

For more information regarding opening a savings account, you can check out Central Bank's Personal Savings page or you contact one of our local branches.

This piece was written by Amanda Hash and used with permission.

Should you refinance your mortgage?

Many advise to obtain a cash-out refinance loan when you are in need of cash and you want to obtain inexpensive funding. However, under certain circumstances it is smarter to resort to second mortgages as these loans can provide equally inexpensive funds without altering the conditions of the previous mortgages.

Second mortgages are home equity loans which use the remaining equity on your home to guarantee repayment. Thus, the previous mortgage loan remains unaltered as only the remaining equity is used and not the one used to guarantee the mortgage loan balance. This is particularly important under certain circumstances when the outstanding mortgage loan has very advantageous terms and it makes no sense to refinance it.

Second Mortgages and Home Loans

Second mortgages are loans based on equity that use only the exceeding equity that is not guaranteeing the outstanding mortgage loan as collateral. Thus, with a home equity loan you can obtain additional cash out of your property just like with cash-out refinance home loans but you do not need to touch your outstanding home loan.

Compared to home loans or first mortgages, second mortgages charge slightly higher interest rates and do not offer such advantageous terms. With a home equity loan or second mortgage you will not be able to obtain repayment schedules of up to 30 years like with home loans but you can get up to 15 years without difficulties.

When to Resort to Second Mortgages

Cash-out refinance loans are an excellent option. They provide all the funds you need while refinancing your outstanding mortgage balance. Besides, as home loans they provide very advantageous terms. And you end up with a single monthly payment instead of having two payments like you do with second mortgages.

However, this is true only if your new refinance home loan has better or similar terms as your previous mortgage. Otherwise, refinancing your home loan may not be to your advantage and the cash you obtain from a cash-out refinance home loan may turn out to be significantly expensive compared to getting additional funds with a home equity loan or second mortgage.

For more information regarding refinancing, you can check out Central Bank's Mortgage section or you contact one of our mortgage loan specialists.

This piece was written by Amanda Hash and used with permission.