Best way to determine bank strength.Safety of my money other than morningstar,bankrate.com,etc?study of bankrate.com seems to indicate most banks are 3-4 star rated....but thats not enough for me.had a 80 yr old bank in chicago go belly up a month after i decided to close savings account even though their rate was highest | |
Take a look at the public organizations ratings of their Bonds and Commercial Paper with Moody's the Bank Rating Agency.
For Example: Wells Fargo is one of only two Banks with the highest ratings in the United States AAA+
You can also check with fdic.gov and enter ANY bank you wish to get all of their financial information.
The Annual Report of a publicly traded company or the 10K and 10Q should also provide you with more data.
And other resources.
occ.gov
federalreserve.com or gov
fdic.gov
If an FDIC financial institution goes belly up as you stated your money is insured up to $100,000. and you should NOT be in a loss position. The last series of Bank Failures was back in the 1980's with the Savings and Loan Debacle.
You can ask for the FDIC Insurance brochure which will give you more interesting data.
PS> You can also go to hoovers.com to get financial information and or a Dunn & Bradstreet Report should provide you with detailed information as well.
GOOD LUCK! :-)
