Put on your “I Love NY” t-shirt on for this CD rate deal – because it’s for residents only.

Massena Savings & Loan and Seacomm Federal Credit Union have annual yields on 36-month CDs that are nearly twice as high as the rates of some of the big banks that have branches in St. Lawrence County, NY.

Massena Savings is offering an annual percentage yield of 3.18 percent on three-year CDs, 2.97 percent on two-year CDs, 2.82 percent on one-year CDs and 2.66 percent on six-month CDs. The short-term CDs require a minimum deposit of $2,500, while a minimum deposit of $1,000 is required for the CDs with terms of one year or longer.

Seacomm has an annual percentage yield of 3.13 percent on three-year CDs, 3.03 percent on two-year CDs, 2.85 percent on one-year CDs and 2.82 percent on six-month CDs.

The rates at the two local financial institutions are dramatically higher than the national average annual percentage yield for certificates of deposit – check CD rates here.

Massena Savings and Loan’s primary service area has boundaries in the Ogdensburg, Lake Placid and Malone areas. “We will not open accounts for people unless they come in” to the Massena or Waddington branches, Mr. Wilmshurst, President of Massena S&L said.

Patriot Act and the Bank Security Act regulations, for example, require financial institutions to scan driver’s licenses and obtain appropriate signatures when opening accounts for customers.

Mr. Kirk Wilmshurst and Scott A. Wilson, president and chief executive officer of Seacomm, said rates of 2.5 percent to 3 percent would not have sparked much interest two years ago. Rates at that time, Mr. Wilson noted, were in the 5 percent range.