WHAT IS
SAFE AND SOUND?
When it comes to measuring an an institution's financial resilience, capital is key. It works as a bulwark against losses and affords protection for accountholders when a bank is struggling financially. From a safety and soundness perspective, more capital is better.
Inez Deposit Bank scored above the national average of 13.13 points on our test to measure the adequacy of a bank's capital, achieving a score of 16 out of a possible 30 points.
A bank's Tier 1 capital ratio is a commonly used measure of this buffer. Inez Deposit Bank's Tier 1 capital ratio was 33.73 percent, exceeding the 6 percent level considered adequate by regulators, and exceeding the national average of 25.65 percent. A higher capital ratio means the bank will be better able to weather financial challenges.
Overall, Inez Deposit Bank held equity amounting to 12.44 percent of its assets, which exceeded the national average of 12.03 percent.
Bankrate uses this test to determine the impact of troubled assets, such as past-due loans, on the bank's capitalization and allocated loan loss reserves.
Having lots of these types of assets could eventually force a bank to use capital to absorb losses, decreasing its equity buffer. Many of those assets are also likely to be in non-accrual status and no longer earning interest for the bank, decreasing earnings and elevating the risk of a failure in the future.
Inez Deposit Bank fell short of 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, 3.15 percent of Inez Deposit Bank's loans were noncurrent -- in other words, they were more than 90 days past due or were in non-accrual status. That's above 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 . How large that reserve is can be a helpful indicator when evaluating a bank's ability to manage troubled assets, especially when compared to the total amount of at-risk loans. Unfortunately, the FDIC did not provide information on Inez Deposit Bank's loan loss allowance in its most recent filings.
A bank's profitability has an effect on its safety and soundness. Earnings may be retained by the bank, giving a boost to its capital cushion, or be used to address problematic loans, likely making the bank more resilient in tough times. Obviously, banks that are losing money have less ability to do those things.
Inez Deposit Bank received below-average marks on Bankrate's earnings test, achieving a score of 4 out of a possible 30.
One important way to measure a bank's earnings is return on equity, calculated by dividing net income (essentially profit) by the total amount of equity. Inez Deposit Bank's most recent annualized quarterly return on equity was 1.91 percent, below the national average of 8.10 percent.
For the twelve months ended December 31, 2017, the bank recorded net income of $343,000 on total equity of $17.9 million. The bank had 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.
Bankrate.com's Safe & Sound Ratings provide a star rating system to evaluate the current financial status of financial institutions. The information gathered about banks, credit unions and thrifts is updated as set forth in the Terms of Use of Safe & Sound Ratings and Reports. The Safe & Sound Ratings information is grouped by categories of banks, thrifts and credit unions.
Bankrate.com evaluates the financial condition of institutions and assigns a one- to five-star rating for each with five stars representing the highest rating. Institutions with satisfactory performance will generally receive a rating of three or more stars. The majority of institutions fall into the three- to four-star range. An institution with an "NR" rating may be too new to rate or may have limited the publicly available information in their regulatory filings. The "NR" is not an indication of financial strength or weakness. The Safe & Sound rating is believed to be reliable, but the information is not guaranteed. In addition, events since the information was collected may have altered the institution's financial condition.