FDIC Problem Bank List

A list of commercial banks in the U.S. that are considered to be in financial difficulty. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) issues this problem list quarterly based on liquidity, capital levels and asset quality. Only institutions that are insured by the FDIC through the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) are included on the list. The actual names of the banks are not given, but the total assets are provided.

Problem institutions are chosen based on financial and operational criteria. The banks are given a ranking from one to five, with one being the most sound and five being the least. In order to be considered a four or five (a problem bank) the institution must have financial, managerial or operational weaknesses that threaten its continuing financial viability. The number of banks on the list are used to evaluate the strength of the financial industry as a whole. The banking industry is then used as a lagging indicator for the overall economy.