How does a Fed decision reach a savings account?
The Federal Reserve sets a target range for the federal funds rate, the rate banks charge each other overnight. It does not set what any bank pays a depositor. Each bank prices its savings account on its own, based on how much deposit funding it needs and how hard it is competing for new savers.
A Fed move changes what that funding costs elsewhere, so it feeds into those decisions, but on each bank's schedule rather than the Fed's. A bank that expects a decision can reprice before the meeting. A bank that doesn't need new deposits may not reprice at all.
Why don't the largest banks pass Fed moves through?
A branch bank with a large existing deposit base doesn't have to compete on rate to keep its funding, so its standard savings tier has stayed near the floor through hikes, holds and cuts alike. As of September 21, 2026, standard savings at the largest banks Arca tracks paid 0.01–0.05% APY.
Online banks raise deposits nationally and compete on rate, which is where Fed decisions show up in what savers earn. The moves are usually small, and they don't always point the same way as the Fed.
What is worth checking after each meeting?
Three things, each checkable against a bank's public rate page:
- Whether the online accounts repriced within two weeks. The table below records the highest rate with no conditions attached on decision day and two weeks later.
- Which way they moved. Deposit rates have moved against the Fed's direction before, when a bank's own funding needs pointed elsewhere.
- Whether the big-bank standard rate moved at all.
Each meeting has its own analysis, linked below the table.
Arca provides information, not financial advice. Rates are sourced from each bank's public rate page, captured weekly, and recorded in the Arca rate table. APYs are variable and can change at any time.