Best Banks in Michigan

John Csiszar
Updated
Michigan State Capitol Building.
Michigan State Capitol Building.

If you want to choose the bank that services your area the best, start by looking at what Michigan’s 10 best banks have to offer. To help you navigate your way through your choices, GOBankingRates has assessed local and regional bank offerings to find the overall best banks in the state.

The methodology consisted of several factors, including asset size, savings account interest rate, bank accessibility, checking account fees and product selection. Take a look at these top 10 bank options to see which state bank has the banking services you need most.

10 Best Banks in Michigan

Whether you’re looking for a savings account, a checking account, a bank loan or the best mortgage rates, you’ll find a quality bank among Michigan’s top 10 banks:

  • Chemical Bank

  • Monroe Bank & Trust

  • Flagstar Bank

  • Sterling Bank and Trust

  • Isabella Bank

  • Level One Bank

  • First National Bank of America

  • Independent Bank

  • Bank of Ann Arbor

  • mBank

Chemical Bank

Chemical Bank is the largest in the GOBankingRates list of Michigan’s best banks, with assets approaching $19 billion. The bank’s ChemBasic checking account helped propel it into the GOBankingRates top 10 based on its lack of service fees or account minimums if you opt for e-statements. The account offers these additional services for free:

  • Debit card

  • Voice banking and e-banking

  • Unlimited e-bill payments

  • Chemical Bank ATM transactions

Chemical Bank offers a variety of services across its 284 branches. Savings account options include holiday club and premier money market accounts. The bank also offers consumer loans, including mortgages, plus trust services, retirement planning and private banking options.

Monroe Bank & Trust

Monroe Bank & Trust offers a basic checking account with convenient and flexible access to your funds. In addition to its own PopMoney Service — which allows you to pay anyone, anywhere, using an email address or a mobile phone number — the bank also offers:

  • Mobile banking and check deposit

  • Online bill payment

  • MasterMoney debit card

The account charges a $3 monthly fee, but this fee is waived when you:

  • Establish direct deposit.

  • Set up at least two automatic payments.

  • Make 10 or more debit card transactions.

Monroe Bank & Trust also offers credit cards, auto loans, home mortgages and investment services, including comprehensive investment management, trust administration, and estate settlement.

Learn More: 11 Must-Have Features All the Best Bank Accounts Offer

Flagstar Bank

Flagstar Bank vies with Chemical Bank for the top asset spot but falls slightly short, with just under $16 billion in assets. Flagstar offers a free checking account, known as SimplyChecking, with some nice features:

  • Free check writing

  • ATM access

  • Electronic and mobile banking

Opening a SimplyChecking account entitles you to a 0.50 percent rate reduction on personal loans, home loans and home equity lines of credit when you have automatic payments debited from the account. But there is a $50 minimum to open the account.

Flagstar offers several different checking accounts for customers hoping to find the best interest rates or additional services, but you might have to pay a fee. The bank also offers auto loans, mortgages and credit cards.

Sterling Bank and Trust

Sterling Bank and Trust doesn’t offer auto loans or credit cards, but its Statement Savings account has an annual percentage yield of 0.40 percent — the highest on this top 10 list. The bank’s Freedom Checking account comes with the following benefits:

  • No fees

  • No minimum monthly balance

  • Unlimited check writing

  • Direct deposit

  • Free online and phone banking

  • Free bill pay

  • Free MasterMoney debit card

Sterling offers a host of business banking, wealth management, and lending services, including both home and commercial loans. Although the bank only has 12 branches, it boasts over $2.4 billion in assets.

Related: How Do Bank Loans Work?

Isabella Bank

Isabella Bank is one of only two banks in the Michigan top 10 list to offer banking services across all categories surveyed: auto loans, mortgages, credit cards, investment services and insurance. With a minimum deposit of $1, you can open the Free Local Checking account offering free:

  • Debit card

  • Telephone banking

  • E-statements

  • Mobile banking

  • Online banking

  • Unlimited transactions

No minimum balance is required once you have an open checking account, and Isabella Bank offers a 0.25 percent rate discount on new loans with automatic payments.

Level One Bank

Level One Bank‘s My Checking account is a no-frills account with no monthly service fees. The account charges a $2 monthly statement charge but only if you choose to receive statements in the mail rather than electronically. A free ATM debit card is included with the account, along with:

  • Free online banking

  • Free bill pay

  • Free mobile banking

A $50 deposit is required to open the account. Level One pays a 0.10% APY on its savings account and offers credit cards, auto loans and mortgages.

First National Bank of America

First National Bank of America offers a relatively high savings APY of 0.25 percent, but it doesn’t provide auto loans, insurance, investment services or credit cards. Its free Personal Checking account has the following terms:

  • $100 minimum to open the account

  • Minimum maintaining balance of $100 or average daily balance of $350

Open a HomeTowne Checking account and maintain a $1,000 balance for the one of the best money market rates available in the state.

Independent Bank

Independent Bank is one of only two banks on this list with products in all five of the major consumer categories: auto loans, mortgages, credit cards, investment services and insurance. The bank’s services include these free features:

  • Checking account with no minimum balance requirements

  • Online and mobile banking

  • Bill pay

  • Chip-enabled debit Mastercard

The bank offers high APYs on CDs, such as 1.07% APY for its 5-month CD and a 1.29% APY on its 13-month CD.

You can open a checking or savings account, personal loan or mortgage loan in person or online. The bank has a toll-free 800 number for personalized assistance in the event you need help by phone.

Bank of Ann Arbor

Bank of Ann Arbor is ranked among the top 100 most-liked banks on Facebook and Twitter. The bank’s Basic Checking account requires a $500 minimum deposit to open and charges a $9 monthly maintenance fee, but that fee can be waived by meeting any of these requirements:

  • Maintaining a $600 minimum balance

  • Maintaining an average collected balance of $1,200

  • Having $5,000 in savings on deposit

  • Having $10,000 in certificates of deposit on account

  • Having a monthly direct deposit

No interest is paid on the Basic Checking account, but account holders enjoy:

  • Statements either electronically or via mail

  • No activity limits

The also provides auto loans, home mortgages and investment services. University of Michigan employees can benefit from the bank’s University Employee Services, which assist with maximizing 403(b) retirement funds.

mBank

mBank offers a basic checking account, E-Z Checking, with not-so-basic services, such as:

  • Unlimited check writing

  • Free ATM/debit card

  • Free bill pay

  • Free internet and phone banking

  • Free e-statements

After opening the account with the $100 minimum deposit, you can avoid the $7 monthly service charge if you maintain a balance of at least $250 in the account.

Although mBank does offer loan rates as low as 3.625 percent for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, you won’t find auto loans, credit cards, investments services or insurance products here.

Next Up: The Best Banks of 2018

Methodology: To determine the best banks in the state, GOBankingRates ranked the top 10 banks based on (1) asset-size, with $100 million minimum in assets held, according to the FDIC; (2) monthly checking account service fee; (3) savings account annual percentage rate, which was either a flat rate or the lowest tiered rate available from the bank for non-specialty savings account products; (4) bank accessibility, based on the approximate number of branches; and (5) products, with banks being scored on selection of products offered, including auto loans, mortgage loans, credit cards, investment services, and insurance.

Data for this ranking was compiled from and verified against the individual institutions’ websites between Sept. 21 and Sept. 26, 2017. Rates, terms and conditions are subject to change at the discretion of the individual financial institutions. APY was based on the minimum deposit required to open the account. Some interest rates might be short-term or promotional offers only, and it is possible additional terms and conditions must be met in order to obtain the interest rates listed. Rates and availability might vary by region. Please verify terms and conditions before opening an account.

GOBankingRates is a personal finance and consumer interest rate website owned by ConsumerTrack, Inc., an online marketing company serving top-tier banks, credit unions, and other financial services organizations. Some banks mentioned in this ranking are clients of ConsumerTrack, Inc., which serves more than 100 national, local and online financial institutions. Rankings are completely objective, and no institution, client or otherwise, paid for inclusion or specific placement.

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Best Banks in Michigan