[chuckinca]

Originally Posted by sbm

I am a banker for over 34 years that just purchased in TV this summer. I assume the person at the bank you were referring to was talking about their regulatory CAMEL rating. This is an internal rating established by the bank's particular regulator (ie. FDIC, OCC, etc.) This is a rating that is not available to anyone other than the bank and its board of directors. There are are other rating agencies out there such as the one you mentioned plus others like Dunn & Bradstreet, etc. In most cases the majority of bank employees probably do not know what their rating is, other than senior management. Your local bank provides an annual Financal statement which is available to the general public that shows their financial strengths or weaknessess and that should help you. In most cases you should not have to worry about your local banks. They are generally solid and profitable and highly regulated and this is causing there to be more regulation on the horizon. It's the Wall Street banks that are in trouble, not generally the main street banks like us. There is a big difference between Wall Street Investment banks and main street banks. Most community banks have not participated in the lending practices that have led to the current financial crisis. Independent community banks provide their customers with FDIC insurance. No bank customer has ever lost a penny of deposits insured by the FDIC. I know it's very unnerving currently, but in most cases your local bank is not effected and people should avoid panic as that can cause unnecessary problems. At our bank and others I know, Senior management is very willing to talk to you and try to dispel any concerns. We get lots of calls every day, but can usually help with just giving them the right information.

Need to know that the $1.98 left after today's market bust is safe in the bank.


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