WHAT IS
SAFE AND SOUND?
When it comes to measuring an a bank's financial resilience, capital is important. It acts as a buffer against losses and affords protection for accountholders during times of financial instability for the bank. When it comes to safety and soundness, the higher the capital, the better.
On our test to measure the adequacy of a bank's capital, Progressive Savings Bank received a score of 10 out of a possible 30 points, less than the national average of 13.13.
One way to measure this buffer is looking at a bank's Tier 1 capital ratio. Progressive Savings Bank's Tier 1 capital ratio was 11.71 percent, above the 6 percent level regulators consider adequate, but less than the national average of 25.65 percent. A higher capital ratio means the bank will be better able to weather economic difficulties.
Overall, Progressive Savings Bank held equity amounting to 9.18 percent of its assets, which was lower than the national average of 12.03 percent.
This test's purpose is to try to understand how the bank's reserves set aside to cover loan losses, as well as overall capitalization, could be affected by problem assets, such as unpaid loans.
A bank with a large number of these kinds of assets may eventually be required to use capital to absorb losses, diminishing its equity cushion. It also means that there are likely to be many assets that are in non-accrual status and no longer earning money, decreasing earnings and elevating the risk of a future failure.
On Bankrate's asset quality test, Progressive Savings Bank scored 24 out of a possible 40 points, below the national average of 37.49 points.
The percentage of problem assets a bank holds compared to its total assets is a useful indicator of asset quality.As of December 31, 2017, 1.15 percent of Progressive Savings Bank's loans were noncurrent, meaning 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 keep a reserve to handle troubled assets known as an "allowance for loan and lease losses." That reserve's size can be a handy indicator when evaluating a bank's ability to manage problem assets, especially when compared to the total amount of problem loans. Unfortunately, the FDIC did not provide information on Progressive Savings Bank's loan loss allowance in its most recent filings.
A bank's ability to earn money 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 times of trouble. Conversely, losses take away from a bank's ability to do those things.
Progressive Savings Bank did above-average on Bankrate's earnings test, achieving a score of 20 out of a possible 30.
Return on equity, calculated by dividing net income (profit, basically) by total equity, is one key measure of a bank's earnings. The most recent annualized quarterly return on equity for Progressive Savings Bank was 12.32 percent, above the national average of 8.10 percent.
The bank reported net income of $3.3 million on total equity of $28.3 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2017. The bank had an annualized return on average assets, or ROA, of 1.10 percent, above the 1 percent deemed satisfactory in accordance with industry standards, and above 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.