Failed Banks: What was knowable when?

Bank failures happen at close of business on Fridays. A team of operatives from the FDIC shows up at the door and by the time those doors open again on Monday morning the bank has been inventoried, valued and transferred to a new owner. This story institutional devastation has happened so many times in 2009 that it become a footnote fixture in the weekly wrap up of financial news. Americans don't quite understand how it really works except to take assurance in the fact that the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) somehow takes care of them even as tumult rages on.

So is it possible to see this kind of trouble heading towards a bank? And if so, how far in advance of disaster do the indications begin to reveal? That's the question that comes across my desk frequently. Everyone wants to know if the IRA Bank Monitor can see it coming. The direct answer is yes. IRA's A+ through F grading system was in fact developed specifically to illustrate these Bank Stress Indices or BSI's so as to begin warning early enough while there might still be time for bank directors and officers to attempt to avoid or mitigate a crisis that could result in regulatory action. But not all banks make it. For some, the fate of failure manifests. It is from these that it's possible to study the "What went wrongs?" so that the clues in the rubble can help others avoid the same fate.

On December 11, 2009 the FDIC closed three banks. The links point to IRA's Failed Bank History Report that shows the prior twelve (12) quarters of stress history for the failed institution. They are presented here as forensic examples.

Solutions Bank
in Overland Park, Kansas

Valley Capital Bank, N.A.
in Mesa, Arizona

Republic Federal Bank, N.A.
in Miami, Florida

I highly encourage serious students of banking and bank risk to study them. Reports on live institutions are available to subscribers at http://www.irabankratings.com/ .