Unofficial Problem Bank List declines to 917 Institutions, Quarterly Transition Matrix

The Unofficial Problem Bank List finished the first half of 2012 with 917 institutions with assets of $354.6 billion. A year ago, the list held 1,003 institutions with assets of $419.9 billion, which was the peak level in terms of assets. Net change for the month was a decline of 14 institutions and $3.4 billion of assets.

This week, there were six removals and two additions. Action terminations include TNBank, Oak Ridge, TN ($177 million); Pan Pacific Bank, Fremont, CA ($116 million Ticker: PPFC); First Community Bank, Hammond, LA ($115 million); Columbus Community Bank, Columbus, GA ($109 million); and Ericson State Bank, Ericson, NE ($49 million). The other removal -- The Palm Bank, Tampa, FL ($117 million) -- came from an unassisted merger.

The additions include Putnam Bank, Putnam, CT ($450 million Ticker: PSBH) and First Bank of Miami, Coral Gables, FL ($248 million). The other change is the FDIC issuing a Prompt Corrective Action order against McHenry Savings Bank, McHenry, IL ($262 million).

With the passage of the calendar quarter, it is time to update the transition matrix. As seen in the table, there have been a total of 1,552 institutions with assets of $802.2 billion that have appeared on the list. About 41 percent or 635 institutions with assets of $369.4 billion have been removed from the list. Failure has been the prior manner of exodus as 330 institutions with assets of $286.0 billion have failed since appearing on the list. Since the list first appeared on August 7, 2009, 31 institutions have failed without being on the unofficial list. Removals from unassisted mergers and voluntary liquidations total 106 institutions.

Actions have been terminated against 199 institutions with assets of $93.5 billion. During the quarter, there was an acceleration in action terminations, particularly within the pool of institutions added after publication of the original list. This group had 44 terminations compared with six terminations in the original pool. Overall, 5.3 percent of the 948 institutions on the list at the start of the second quarter were removed because of action termination. For comparison purposes, the action termination rate was 3.3 percent in the first quarter of 2012 and 2.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011. Some cynical observers would say the acceleration in the termination rate results from industry outcry and Congressional pressure on the banking regulators. The difference in the termination rates among the pools may provide some insights as to vintage severity. In other words, were the early arrivers on the list in worse condition than the late comers?