Here at Bankrate.com, we pound the table trying to get folks to put their financial houses in order. But it's not just consumers who need to wisely manage their finances -- banks do, too.

The Bankrate.com Safe & Sound ratings feature is a quick and easy way for you to check the financial health of a bank, thrift or credit union before you open an account. It's an independent resource to assist you in making banking decisions.

Ratings structure
Presented below is an explanation of Bankrate's Safe & Sound CAEL rating system for commercial banks, savings institutions, and credit unions:

Safe & Sound rating system

Star rating Definition   Superior   Sound   Performing   Below peer group   Lowest rated   Not Rated "NR" Complete data not available   Closed Institution is closed   G Designates high growth

Bankrate.com's Safe & Sound service is a proprietary system designed to provide information on the relative financial strength and stability of U.S. commercial banks, savings institutions and credit unions. The system employs a series of 22 tests to measure the capital adequacy, asset quality, profitability, and liquidity (CAEL) of each rated financial institution. Individual performance levels are determined from publicly available regulatory filings and are compared to asset-size peer norms, industry standards and key absolute benchmarks. Combined results form the basis for our Composite CAEL and Star Ratings. When possible, the system also produces a report that provides a detailed explanation of our findings, for each rated financial institution.