Q4 2021 Update: Unofficial Problem Bank list Decreased to 57 Institutions

The S&P is heading below 3,000. Basic math (and a metric beloved by famed economist Robert Shiller) suggests it

Wednesday: Durable Goods

by Calculated Risk on 1/10/2022 02:50:00 PM

The FDIC’s official problem bank list is comprised of banks with a CAMELS rating of 4 or 5, and the list is not made public (just the number of banks and assets every quarter). Note: Bank CAMELS ratings are also not made public.

CAMELS is the FDIC rating system, and stands for Capital adequacy, Asset quality, Management, Earnings, Liquidity and Sensitivity to market risk. The scale is from 1 to 5, with 1 being the strongest.

As a substitute for the CAMELS ratings, surferdude808 is using publicly announced formal enforcement actions, and also media reports and company announcements that suggest to us an enforcement action is likely, to compile a list of possible problem banks in the public interest.

DISCLAIMER: This is an unofficial list, the information is from public sources only, and while deemed to be reliable is not guaranteed. No warranty or representation, expressed or implied, is made as to the accuracy of the information contained herein and same is subject to errors and omissions. This is not intended as investment advice. Please contact CR with any errors.

Here are the quarterly changes and a few comments from surferdude808:

Update on the Unofficial Problem Bank List through December 31, 2021. Since the last update at the end of September 2021, the list decreased by two to 57 institutions after two additions and four removals. Assets increased by $1.7 billion to $56.6 billion, with the change primarily resulting from a $1.7 billion increase from updated asset figures through September 30, 2021. A year ago, the list held 65 institutions with assets of $58.2 billion.

Additions during the fourth quarter included BancCentral, National Association, Alva, OK ($542 million) and Herring Bank, Amarillo, TX ($521 million). Removals during the quarter because of action termination included Texas Citizens Bank, National Association, Pasadena, TX ($515 million); Civis Bank, Rogersville, TN ($189 million); and Canyon Community Bank, National Association, Tucson, AZ ($146 million). CornerstoneBank, Atlanta, GA ($224 million) exited through an unassisted merger. On November 30, 2021, the FDIC released third quarter results and provided an update on the Official Problem Bank List. In that release, the FDIC said there were 46 institutions with assets of $51 billion on the official list, down from the 51 institutions but up in assets from $46 billion in the second quarter of 2021.

With the conclusion of the fourth quarter, we bring an updated transition matrix to detail how banks are transitioning off the Unofficial Problem Bank List. Since we first published the Unofficial Problem Bank List on August 7, 2009 with 389 institutions, 1,781 institutions have appeared on a weekly or monthly list since then. Only 3.2 percent of the banks that have appeared on a list remain today as 1,724 institutions have transitioned through the list. Departure methods include 1,017 action terminations, 411 failures, 278 mergers, and 19 voluntary liquidations. Of the 389 institutions on the first published list, only 3 or less than 1.0 percent, still have a troubled designation more than ten years later. The 411 failures represent 23.1 percent of the 1,781 institutions that have made an appearance on the list. This failure rate is well above the 10-12 percent rate frequently cited in media reports on the failure rate of banks on the FDIC’s official list.