On the same day that President Bush told the country
it should take a deep breath and remain calm about the current round of discouraging and even alarming news about the health of the nation's economy and banking industry, ABC News has obtained lists prepared by financial analysts and research groups indicating the "most troubled banks." The lists include banks in Colorado, Georgia, Maryland and California.
The ABC News report says:
While the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is keeping secret its official list of 90 troubled banks, ABC News has obtained other lists prepared by several research groups and financial analysts.
The lists use versions of the so-called "Texas ratio" which compare a bank's assets and reserves to its non-performing loans, based on financial data made public by the FDIC in March.
Analysts say banks with a ratio over 100 percent would be the most likely to fail, based on what happened to Texas savings and loans during the 1980s.
The ABC News story also links to Research Associates of America [PDF], a nonprofit organization funded by labor unions. The organization created a list of banks that, according to the "Texas ratio," would be in trouble:
- Colorado Federal Savings Bank (Greenwood Village, Colo.): 244.8 "Texas ratio"
- Eastern Savings Bank, FSB (Hunt Valley, Md.): 222.7
- Integrity Bank (Alpharetta, Ga.): 191.6
- Ameribank, Inc. (Welch, W.V.): 153.7
- First Priority Bank (Bradenton, Fla.): 122.6
- First Security National Bank (Norcross, Ga.): 112.1
- Magnet Bank (Salt Lake City, Utah): 110.4
- Security Pacific Bank (Los Angeles): 102.8
- First National Bank of Brookfield (Brookfield, Ill.): 102.1
- The State Bank of Lebo (Lebo, Kan.): 100.6
The New York Times reports:
The nation's banks are in far less danger than they were in the late 1980s and early 1990s, when more than 1,000 federally insured institutions went under during the savings-and-loan crisis. The debacle, the greatest collapse of American financial institutions since the Depression, prompted a government bailout that cost taxpayers about $125 billion.
But the troubles are growing so rapidly at some small and midsize banks that as many as 150 out of the 7,500 banks nationwide could fail over the next 12 to 18 months, analysts say. Other lenders are likely to shut branches or seek mergers.
The Associated Press wrote a piece focused on what consumers should keep in mind. How do you know if your bank is sound? What happens when a bank closes? What is insured by the FDIC?
How about a way to stave off more depositor losses?...
