Safe Banks in 2009

A total of over 77 banks have closed in 2009 and counting. According to Dick (Richard Bove), a financial analyst for Rochdale Securities who has been the securities business since 1965 another 150 to 200 banks fail. In 2008, he was ranked by Zacks as the top financial analyst in the country.

He created a list called Bove's List which I talked about in my blog on July 20, 2008 entitled, "Check to See if Your Bank is on Bove's List". Some of the banks listed in his March 2008 report have closed or are still in financial trouble. Bove has identified 8 banks that he likes. The banks are: Bank of NY Mellon, Northern Trust, State Street, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, Citigroup, and JP Chase Morgan.

As a comparison, in 1987, the FDIC listed 1,575 problem banks and more than 10% of the banks were on the FDIC problem list. In 1987, 184 banks failed. The FDIC reports that number of troubled banks 252, soared during the fourth quarter of 2008 to the highest level since 1994.

BankUnited FSB is the largest bank failure in 2009 in terms of the percentage loss on failed bank’s assets. The two previous largest bank failures in the history of banking, in terms of loss to the FDIC, were Indy Mac Bank in July 2008 and American S&L in September 1988.

According to a Global Finance banks across the world were ranked. In the study 50 of the world's safest banks are identified. One bank in the US was listed in the top 20, Bank of NY Mellon (BK). Wells Fargo was also listed in the top 50 and in another report was listed as the best consumer internet bank. Other banks listed in the top 50 safest banks were US Bancorp and BB&T.

Here are 4 tips to help you research your bank's health.

1. If you bank has closed check the FDIC website to see if it is FDIC insured.

2. Move at least some of your money to a credit union or a smaller bank or banks such as PNC or BB&T that did not invest in the sub-prime mortgage loans.

3. Do research on your current banks and look at the earnings over the past two to three years as well as the number of branches that have closed.

4. Put your money in more than one bank. As your grandmother used to say "never leave all your eggs in one basket."

The following banks closed in 2009.

Guaranty Bank

CapitalSouth Bank

First Coweta Bank

ebank

Community Bank of Nevada

Community Bank of Arizona

Union Bank, National Association

Colonial Bank

Dwelling House Savings and Loan Association

Community First Bank

Community National Bank of Sarasota County

First State Bank

Mutual Bank

First BankAmericano

Peoples Community Bank

Integrity Bank

First State Bank of Altus

Security Bank of Jones County

Security Bank of Houston County

Security Bank of Bibb County

Security Bank of North Metro

Security Bank of North Fulton

Security Bank of Gwinnett County

Waterford Village Bank

Temecula Valley Bank

Vineyard Bank

BankFirst

First Piedmont Bank

Bank of Wyoming

Founders Bank

Millennium State Bank of Texas

First National Bank of Danville

Elizabeth State Bank

Rock River Bank

First State Bank of Winchester

John Warner Bank

Mirae Bank

MetroPacific Bank

Horizon Bank

Neighborhood Community Bank

Community Bank of West Georgia

First National Bank of Anthony

Cooperative Bank

Southern Community Bank

Bank of Lincolnwood

Citizens National Bank

Strategic Capital Bank

BankUnited, FSB

Westsound Bank

America West Bank

Citizens Community Bank

Silverton Bank, NA

First Bank of Idaho

First Bank of Beverly Hills

Michigan Heritage Bank

American Southern Bank

Great Basin Bank of Nevada

American Sterling Bank

New Frontier Bank

Cape Fear Bank

Omni National Bank

TeamBank, NA

Colorado National Bank

FirstCity Bank

Freedom Bank of Georgia

Security Savings Bank

Heritage Community Bank

Silver Falls Bank

Pinnacle Bank of Oregon

Corn Belt Bank & Trust Co.

Riverside Bank of the Gulf Coast

Sherman County Bank

County Bank

Alliance Bank

FirstBank Financial Services

Ocala National Bank

Suburban FSB

MagnetBank

1st Centennial Bank

Bank of Clark County

National Bank of Commerce

Check Your Bank's Rating

There is a FDIC bank "problem list" that is not published to prevent consumers from closing their accounts. There were reportedly 90 banks on the list as of the end of the first quarter. Those that receive a rating of 4 or 5 are put on the list (Reference from CNN Money)

However, with 5 large bank closings this year you may want to find out the rating of your bank. A rating of 1 is the highest, a rating of 5 is the lowest.

1. Go to bankrate.com and search for Safe Sound or Safe Scan
2. Then select bank or credit union
3. Search by institution name (select the first letter of the name of the bank) or search by other criteria

List of "Problem Banks" Taken from Bankimplode.com

Citigroup - $83.3B/$36B/$22.7B (7)
Posted on July 18, 2008 9:03 AM
Merrill Lynch - $47.25B/$34.4B/* (1)
Posted on July 17, 2008 8:36 PM
JP Morgan Chase - $11.0B/*/$6B (3)
Posted on July 17, 2008 7:15 AM
Wells Fargo - $2.9B/0/$23B (2)
Posted on July 16, 2008 12:40 PM
US Bancorp - $1.6B/*/* (0)
Posted on July 15, 2008 12:13 PM
National City - $200M (0)
Posted on July 14, 2008 5:45 PM
Lehman Brothers - $7.2B/$6B/$42 (2)
Posted on July 11, 2008 10:05 AM
Wachovia - $6.8B/$10.5B/$30.4B (4)
Posted on July 10, 2008 11:23 AM
Bank of America - $4.4B/*/$31.4B (4)
Posted on July 8, 2008 12:16 PM
Barclay’s PLC - $6.4B/$7.8B (0)
Posted on June 30, 2008 6:02 PM
HBOS PLC - $2.5B/$4B (0)
Posted on June 25, 2008 1:45 PM
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce(CIBC) - $6.7B (0)
Posted on June 23, 2008 11:44 AM
Morgan Stanley - $23.2B (0)
Posted on June 19, 2008 1:38 PM
Fifth Third Bancorp - $155M/$2B (0)
Posted on June 18, 2008 5:16 PM
Goldman Sachs - $6.2B (3)
Posted on June 17, 2008 5:15 PM
Washington Mutual - $1.6B (2)
Posted on June 14, 2008 5:35 PM
Royal Bank of Scotland - $3.6B/$24B (2)
Posted on June 4, 2008 5:34 PM
Societe Generale SA- $13.7 /$8.5B (0)
Posted on June 4, 2008 3:08 PM
BNP Paribas SA-$2.5B/ $0 cash (0)
Posted on June 4, 2008 2:39 PM
UBS - $45.0B/$41.5B (2)
Posted on June 1, 2008 11:22 AM
Royal Bank of Canada - $1.4B (0)
Posted on May 29, 2008 6:07 PM
Bank of Montreal (BMO) - $611M (0)
Posted on May 29, 2008 1:02 PM
Mizuho MFG - $5.4B (0)
Posted on May 22, 2008 2:09 PM
Bayern LB - $9.8B (0)
Posted on May 19, 2008 7:42 AM
WestLB AG - $4.8B (0)
Posted on May 19, 2008 7:35 AM
Natixis - $3.4B (1)
Posted on May 19, 2008 7:31 AM
HSBC Bank PLC - $6.6B (0)
Posted on May 19, 2008 5:32 AM
Credit Agricole SA-$13.8B (0)
Posted on May 12, 2008 5:18 PM
Credit Suisse - $5.95B (0)
Posted on May 2, 2008 5:20 PM
Deutsche Bank - $18.6B (1)
Posted on May 2, 2008 5:19 PM
Mitsubishi Financial Group - $760M (0)
Posted on April 23, 2008 12:54 AM
SunTrust - $718.7M-$1.5 B (1)
Posted on April 13, 2008 6:33 PM
Bank of NY Mellon - $118M (0)
Posted on April 9, 2008 11:19 AM
Sovereign Bancorp - $1.580B (0)
Posted on April 8, 2008 1:29 PM
IKB - $12.91B (0)
Posted on March 20, 2008 8:13 PM
DZ BANK AG - $2.1B (0)
Posted on March 7, 2008 9:52 PM
HSBC - $26.5B (0)
Posted on March 5, 2008 5:25 PM
Commerzbank - $855M (1)
Posted on February 15, 2008 9:48 AM

Sources: Bankrate.com, CNN Money, Bank Implode