The banking industry in the U.S. continues making strides; over 90% of the industry is recommended by Bauer (rated 5-Stars or 4-Stars) and there are fewer banks on Bauer’s Troubled and Problematic Bank Report than we have seen since 2007 (although Bauer does have more than the FDIC, as always).
There are actually 25 states (or territories) that have no banks rated 2-Stars or below) up from 19 a year ago. Georgia continues to have the highest percent of T&P banks (7.7%) but that’s down considerably from the 10.7% it had a year ago. Florida has the second highest percent at 5.1%, virtually unchanged from the 5.2% last year.
What we do find disconcerting, however, are the number of states that witnessed increases: Utah, for example, went from 4.4% to 4.8% and Maryland from 3.9% to 4.3%. The full list can be found on page 7 so you can see how your state fares in relation to the rest.
All bank star-ratings have been updated at bauerfinancial.com and all new reports are available, based on the third quarter data, as well. Bauer recently enhanced its Analytical and LLAMAS bank reports by adding Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) ratings along with other supervisory action information. Now is the perfect time to check out your own bank(s) to make sure you’re on the right track heading into the New Year.
We’ll get into more detail next week about the actual bank data, but here are some of the highlights from the third quarter:
Had it not been for the new, lower corporate tax rate that banks have been enjoying this year, net income would have increased 13.9% over the 12 month period. More than 70% of the industry reported year over year earning growth.