Branson Bank

THE INSTITUTION'S SCORE

Capital Score

Capital works as a buffer against losses and as protection for depositors when a bank is experiencing economic instability. Therefore, a bank's level of capital is a useful measurement of a bank's financial strength. From a safety and soundness perspective, more capital is better.

Branson Bank received a score of 12 out of a possible 30 points on our test to measure capital adequacy, lower than the national average of 13.13.

One widely used measure of this buffer is a bank's Tier 1 capital ratio. Branson Bank's Tier 1 capital ratio was 13.16 percent, exceeding the 6 percent level regulators consider adequate, but under the national average of 25.65 percent. The higher the capital ratio, the better the bank will be able to weather economic downturns.

Overall, Branson Bank held equity amounting to 10.22 percent of its assets, which was lower than the national average of 12.03 percent.

Asset Quality Score

In this test, Bankrate tries to determine the effect of problem assets, such as unpaid mortgages, on the bank's capitalization and allocated loan loss reserves.

Having large numbers of these kinds of assets may eventually require a bank to use capital to absorb losses, decreasing its cushion of equity. It also means that there are likely to be many assets that are in non-accrual status and thus aren't earning money, decreasing earnings and increasing the chances of a failure in the future.

Branson Bank scored 40 out of a possible 40 points on Bankrate's asset quality test, above the national average of 37.49.

The percentage of problem assets a bank holds compared to its total assets is a handy indicator of asset quality.As of December 31, 2017, 0.16 percent of Branson Bank's loans were noncurrent -- in other words, 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 keep 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 problem loans can be a helpful indicator when evaluating a bank's ability to manage problem assets. Unfortunately, the FDIC did not provide information on Branson Bank's loan loss allowance in its most recent filings.

Earnings score

A bank's profitability has an effect on its long-term survivability. Earnings can be retained by the bank, expanding its capital buffer, or be used to address problematic loans, potentially making the bank better prepared to withstand economic trouble. Obviously, banks that are losing money have less ability to do those things.

Branson Bank scored 18 out of a possible 30 on Bankrate's test of earnings, beating out the national average of 15.12.

Return on equity, calculated by dividing net income (profit, essentially) by the total amount of equity, is one important way to measure a bank's earnings. The most recent annualized quarterly return on equity for Branson Bank was 9.66 percent, above the national average of 8.10 percent.

For the twelve months ended December 31, 2017, the bank earned net income of $1.9 million on total equity of $20.5 million. The bank reported an annualized return on average assets, or ROA, of 0.98 percent, below the 1 percent deemed satisfactory in accordance with industry standards and below the average for U.S. banks of 1.00 percent.