September 30th bank data and ratings are out and while net income for the industry as a whole ($51.2 billion) was up 173% from second quarter, it was still down 10.7% from last September. It is really a tale of…
News (page 3)
Whole Turkey Price Down 7% from 2019
We don’t know how many Americans will be having a traditional Thanksgiving Dinner this year. Some estimates suggest over 50% will continue with normal traditions, while the rest will be scaling it back or cutting down considerably. As for us,…
New Bank Charters May Lead to Confusion
If starting a new bank during a pandemic seems like a daunting task, it’s because it is. Just ask the organizers of would-be Coastal Community Bank, N.A. (in organization), Hollywood, FL. The bank was on course to open with an…
Maybe We Needed a Little Boring
If that’s the case, the Federal Reserve did not disappoint. The Fed Funds rate remains near zero-where it’s been since March. And there is virtually no chance of that changing anytime soon. That means we are stuck with CD rates…
Community Banks Going the Extra Mile
What makes a community bank different from other banks? Much depends on the size of the bank, but what’s more important is the focus. A true community bank knows that its success hinges on the success of the community it…
Bad Loans Bring Down 2 More Banks
It was hanging on by a thread, for a very long time. According to the FDIC press release, Zero-Star First City Bank of Florida’s difficulties began in 2009, but we added it to Bauer’s Troubled and Problematic Bank Report based…
Diversify, Diversify, Diversify
We have been focusing quite a bit lately on commercial real estate (CRE) ghost malls and the like, and with good reason. But, imagine a scenario where a bank had 56% of its loans in CRE and another 26% in…
The Majority of the Minority
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders constitute about 6% of the U.S. population. They also control half of the nation’s minority owned banks. Most of these banks have strong ratings and histories, which is good…
Changing Habits, Closing Stores
As the nation’s bank rating firm, it’s Bauer’s job to stay on top of things like Commercial Real Estate (CRE). While not automatically a sign of impending trouble, too much of anything (i.e. concentration in one type, growth, bad loans,…
Cyber-Fraud Reaches Pandemic Levels
Federal Regulators are required to submit Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) to the Treasury for a number of different reasons and scenarios, but it all boils down to one: Fraud and Crime Prevention. In August 2018, a new sub-category was added…