Pacific Western Bank Review: Great for West Coast Banking, Even Better for High APY

Pacific Western Bank is a regional bank that boasts some of the highest APYs for CDs, savings, and money market accounts. Though the bank is geared heavily toward those living near one of its 69 branches, it offers an online money market account to nationwide clients through the financial company Raisin. With that in mind, let's take a look at what Pacific Western Bank has to offer.

Arguably the bank's most exciting product, the Pacific Western Bank Money Market Deposit Account has certainly drawn a lot of media attention. If you're nodding your head enthusiastically, let's look at the details.

Money Market Deposit Account

Pacific Western Bank's money market account (MMA) has an incredibly high APY of 5.27%. The account has a low minimum deposit ($1) and no fees. Better yet, this account is powered by the financial company, Raisin. Since the account is on Raisin's platform, it's open to all clients nationwide. Yes, even if you don't live near a Pacific Western Bank, you can still open one.

Pacific Western Bank has one high-yield savings account for its personal clients.

High Yield Savings Account

The Pacific Western Bank High Yield Savings Account boasts a high APY of 5.15%. The account has a low monthly fee of $3, which you can waive by maintaining a balance of $5,000.

One potential hangup with this account is you need to open one at a local branch. In other words, you can't open one online or over the phone. In essence, you must reside near one of the bank's 69 branches. All of these are in California with the exception of one in Denver and one in Durham, North Carolina. In addition to that, you also need $5,000 to open an account.

CDs typically offer higher interest rates than high-yield savings accounts in exchange for locking your money up for a specific term. Pacific Western Bank CDs have high APYs, but truthfully -- they're not the highest of top-paying CDs we've seen. Plus, you'll need to open one in person at a local Pacific Western Bank branch. With that in mind, here's what the bank has to offer.

Personal CD

Pacific Western Bank CDs come in three terms: 5 months, 7 months, and 13 months. These terms are a bit unusual -- most banks offer short-term CDs in intervals of three months, like six, nine, and 12 months -- which could make them a compelling rung for a long CD ladder. The APYs are decent and pretty near on-par with the competition.

The emphasis there is on "decent." Many of today's most exciting CD offers are higher than 5.15%. It's not a bad offer for your money, but be sure to shop around first if you're not a committed Pacific Western Bank client.

Pacific Western Bank CD rates are on par with other banks, but they're not leading the marketplace. For comparison, here's what you could earn from other CD providers.

If checking accounts are your jam, Pacific Western Bank has three flavors for you to choose from. Each account comes with a Mastercard debit card, requires a $50 opening deposit, and must be opened in person. Here's what's on the menu.

Value interest checking

This account earns some interest and has unlimited check-writing privileges. The account does have a fee, which is undisclosed on its website, but you can apparently waive it with a "moderate balance," according to Pacific Western Bank. To find out more details, visit your local Pacific Western Bank.

Value checking

If you want a no-frills checking account, this could be right for you. According to the bank, you can waive the account's fee with a low minimum balance, which, like its value interest checking, isn't disclosed on its website. Depending how much you need in the account, this could be a great account to have with your savings or money market.

High-yield checking

Finally, the bank has a high-yield account for those who can maintain higher balances. Like its other checking accounts, you'll need to contact your local branch directly to see how much balance you'd need to maintain and what APY you'd get in exchange.

PacWest provides customer service help for online banking from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (PT) Monday to Thursday, with an extended hour on Fridays (6 p.m.). You can also reach out online through its support portal.

The bank doesn't have enough reviews on third-party review sites to get a full picture of its customer service experience. It has several profiles on Better Business Bureau (each one for a different location), and most have A+ ratings (with the exception of one C+).

Though the bank describes itself as a "relationship bank," it doesn't advertise relationship benefits for its personal bank accounts.

To be fair, most banks don't provide relationship benefits, such as high APYs or waived fees for clients with multiple accounts or higher deposits. Instead of relationship benefits, PacWest gives you access to some of the market's highest rates, so long as you meet the minimum deposit requirements and live near one of its branches.

Earning high interest on your deposits is a major benefit of Pacific Western Bank, but its lack of brick-and-mortar banks nationwide may not suit your needs. If you'd like to draw comparisons, here's two other banks you might consider.

Western Alliance Bank

For super high APYs, look no further than Western Alliance Bank. This bank -- powered by Raisin -- boasts a competitive APY for its savings account. Not only that, but its CD rates are off the charts. It doesn't have physical locations, nor can you withdraw from ATMs. But if earning high interest is important to you, this bank could be a strong competitor to Pacific Western Bank.

Capital One Bank

Capital One Bank could be the perfect middle ground between earning high interest and having access to your money. Its Capital One 360 Performance Savings account has no fees -- no matter what your balance is -- and it has several bank branches in big cities. It doesn't have ATM access, but you can easily transfer money into a Capital One 360 Checking account.

The most important consideration is whether you live near a Pacific Western Bank branch. Many of its accounts require you to open them in person, such as its CDs, savings, and checking accounts. Aside from that, you'll also want to consider the monthly fees and whether you can maintain the appropriate balance to waive them.

Our bank and credit union methodology

Our methodology for scoring banks and credit unions revolves around evaluating key aspects such as annual percentage yield (APY), brand reputation, fees and minimum requirements, and additional perks.

These criteria are weighted differently across various account types, ensuring a comprehensive assessment that reflects the competitive landscape and economic conditions.

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