Ally Bank continues to pay some of the highest certificate of deposit CD rates in the country. Is their strategy working?

Ally Bank’s 2.00% 1 year CDs, while less than half the 4.05% yield a year ago, are among the highest in the country, according to Bankrate.com. CD rates fluctuate as interest rates rise and fall.

Parent company GMAC is counting on added deposits at Ally Bank to help fund lending. In May it received an exemption from the Federal Reserve allowing the bank to originate a limited amount of GM- related retail and wholesale assets.

GMAC renamed Ally Bank in May and boosted television advertising to attract new customers. Television ads criticize competitors for hiding rate increases and say there’s “nothing buried in the fine print” at Ally. GMAC’s deposits in the first quarter rose 17 percent from the previous period to $23.2 billion.

“The business model for GMAC is shifting to become increasingly more reliant on bank funding,” said Gina Proia, a company spokeswoman. “In making the brand transition, we executed several activities including the ad campaign to let customers know what this bank stands for.”