On April 8th, Rodney E. Hood was sworn in as the 11th Chairman of the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA). The North Carolina native has an extensive background in both the public and private sectors, including a previous stint on…
News
Banks Brace for Rate Cuts, Credit Card Crunch
The FDIC put a positive spin on second quarter bank results, and with good reason. There was a lot to be pleased about: · Net Income was up 4.1% from second quarter 2018 for the industry while Community Banks reported an…
New Bank & Credit Union Star-Ratings; Bauer Stresses Importance of Staying Informed as Industry Consolidates
September 12, 2019: BauerFinancial, Inc., Coral Gables, FL, the nation’s leading independent bank and credit union rating firm, is proud to announce that over 200 institutions have just earned its highest (5-Star) rating, that previously had not. The new ratings,…
Mutual Bank Growth Through Conversion
Unlike commercial banks, mutual banks are community banks with no stockholders or direct ownership. They are co-ops, owned by the depositors themselves. Originally created to promote savings and home-ownership, the first mutual was established in Boston in 1816. Historically, Massachusetts…
All Bank Star-Ratings Now as of June Data
All bank star-ratings are now based on June 30, 2019 financial data. (Credit union data will be updated in early September.) And, as a result, Bauer welcomes 104 banks to its top 5-Star category. There are 40 fewer recommended banks…
Why We Love a Good Vanilla
A bank’s Efficiency Ratio measures how much of its operating revenue is spent on overhead, so a lower ratio indicates greater efficiency. According to the FDIC Quarterly Banking Profile (QBP), the average bank efficiency ratio at March 31, 2019 was…
There is no Such Thing as Recession-Proof
We have been reporting a lot lately on different loan categories as we’ve been probing for cracks in the armor. Talks of an impending recession are getting louder and more prevalent, so we will continue that pursuit. This week, however,…
Who’s Afraid of Ghost …Malls ?
Commercial Real Estate (CRE) loans are comprised of multifamily (five or more) residential real estate, office buildings, shopping malls and most other structures that house businesses. Most of which have expanded along with the economy over the past several years.…
Fed Cuts Interest Rates. Now What?
By now you probably know that the Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee lowered the Fed Funds target a quarter point on Wednesday (July 31st). The range is now between 2% and 2.25% with another quarter point cut widely expected before…
Your Home: Asset or Liability?
For most Americans, our home is our greatest asset. At the same time, our mortgage is apt to be our biggest liability. Reconciling those two seemingly contradictory pieces of information is not always an easy thing to do… and was…
Household Debt $1 Trillion Above Previous Peak
Household debt rose $124 billion in the first quarter 2019! That marks the 19th consecutive quarter with an increase and brings the total to $13.7 trillion. That’s according to a quarterly report published by the Federal Reserve Bank of New…