Bank of Moundville

THE INSTITUTION'S SCORE

Capital Score

Capital works as a bulwark against losses and provides protection for account holders during times of financial trouble for the bank. It follows then that when it comes to measuring an a bank's financial fortitude, capital is essential. When looking at safety and soundness, the more capital, the better.

On our test to measure capital adequacy, Bank of Moundville received a score of 8 out of a possible 30 points, less than the national average of 13.13.

One widely followed measure of this buffer is a bank's Tier 1 capital ratio. Bank of Moundville's Tier 1 capital ratio was 23.32 percent, above the 6 percent level considered adequate by regulators, but less than the national average of 25.65 percent. A higher capital ratio means the bank will be better able to weather financial challenges.

Overall, Bank of Moundville held equity amounting to 8.97 percent of its assets, which was lower than the national average of 12.03 percent.

Asset Quality Score

Bankrate uses this test to estimate the effect of troubled assets, such as past-due mortgages, on the bank's loan loss reserves and overall capitalization.

Having extensive holdings of these types of assets may eventually force a bank to use capital to cover losses, cutting down on its equity buffer. Many of those assets are also likely to be in non-accrual status and no longer earning interest for the bank, resulting in lower earnings and potentially more risk of a failure in the future.

Bank of Moundville came in below the national average of 37.49 on Bankrate's test of asset quality, racking up 36 out of a possible 40 points .

The percentage of problem assets a bank holds compared to its total assets is a helpful indicator of asset quality.As of December 31, 2017, 0.38 percent of Bank of Moundville's loans were noncurrent, meaning they were more than 90 days past due or were in non-accrual status. That's below the national average of 1.01 percent.

Banks maintain a reserve known as an "allowance for loan and lease losses" to deal with troubled assets . Comparing how large that reserve is to the total amount of problematic loans can be a helpful indicator when evaluating a bank's ability to manage problem assets. Unfortunately, the FDIC did not provide information on Bank of Moundville's loan loss allowance in its most recent filings.

Earnings score

A bank's earnings performance affects its safety and soundness. A bank can retain its earnings, boosting its capital buffer, or put them to work addressing problematic loans, potentially making the bank more resilient in tough times. Losses, on the other hand, lessen a bank's ability to do those things.

Bank of Moundville scored 6 out of a possible 30 on Bankrate's earnings test, less than the national average of 15.12.

One widely used measure of a bank's earnings is return on equity, or net income (profit, essentially) divided by the total amount of equity. The most recent annualized quarterly return on equity for Bank of Moundville was 2.55 percent, below the national average of 8.10 percent.

For the twelve months ended December 31, 2017, the bank earned net income of $215,000 on total equity of $8.2 million. The bank reported an annualized return on average assets, or ROA, of 0.23 percent, below the 1 percent deemed satisfactory in accordance with industry standards and below the average for U.S. banks of 1.00 percent.