More Banks, Thrifts Join Watch List

NEW YORK (TheStreet) - With a complete set of year-end data now available, seven more banks and thrifts have been added to TheStreet's Watch List.

Based on updated fourth-quarter regulatory data supplied by SNL Financial for the nation's 7,677 banks and savings and loan associations, and factoring-in 11 bank and thrift failures since TheStreet's previous Watch List was published on February 2, 157 institutions were undercapitalized according to the regulatory guidelines that apply to most institutions.

Click the link below to see the full list:

>>>Bank Watch List

It is important to note that any capital raised by institutions during the first quarter of 2011 will not be reflected on the Watch List.

Most banks and thrifts need to maintain Tier 1 leverage, Tier 1 risk-based and total risk-based capital ratios of at least 5%, 6% and 10% to be considered well-capitalized under regulatory guidelines. Some trust banks carry lower capital requirements. The ratios need to be at least 4%, 4% and 8% for most to be considered adequately capitalized.

Seven institutions are added to the Watch List, mainly because December data for most thrifts wasn't yet available on February 2. The largest of these seven - and the largest on the list -- is Superior Bank of Birmingham. Ala., which is held by Superior Bancorp (SUPR). After posting a fourth-quarter net loss of $43.9 million, Superior Bank was left with a Tier 1 leverage ratio of just 1.41%, and its nonperforming assets - including nonaccrual loans, loans past due 90 days or more, and repossessed real estate, -- made up 11.31% of total assets as of December 31.

Superior Bancorp announced in November that the bank had filed a $58 million claim with the Gulf Coast Claims Facility for "additional stresses on our Gulf Coast loan portfolio" resulting from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

The other six banks and thrifts joining the list are Inter Savings Bank, FSB of Maple Grove, Minn., Atlantic Bank and Trust of Charleston, S.C., Piedmont Community Bank of Gray, Ga., Liberty Federal Savings Bank of Enid, Oka., Coastal Bank of Cocoa Beach, Fla., and Rosemount National Bank of Rosemount, Minn.

Two of the remaining banks on the Watch List were negatively-capitalized as of December 31. The largest of these was First Choice Community Bank of Dallas, Ga., which had $308 million in total assets as of December 31. After reporting a fourth-quarter net loss of $20.9 million, the bank was left with a Tier 1 capital ratio of -2.37%. The bank's ratio of nonperforming assets - including loans past due more than 90 days or in nonaccrual status (less government-guaranteed balances) and repossessed real estate - to total assets was 26.87%.

The next-largest largest institution after Superior Bank on the fourth-quarter Watch List is Integra Bank, NA, which is headquartered in Evansville, Ind., and had $2.4 billion in total assets as of December 31. The bank is the main subsidiary of Integra Bank Corp. (IBNK).

The third-largest bank on the Watch List is CommunityONE Bank, NA of Asheboro, N.C., which had $1.9 billion in assets. The bank is held by FNB United (FNBN). In January, the holding company announced that $7.5 million of a $15 million loan from SunTrust (STI) was converted into preferred stock with an 8% coupon, while the remainder of the loan was converted to a subordinated note, also paying 8%. Under the agreement with SunTrust, the holding company agreed to raise $300 million in capital by June 30, 2011.

Next is Bank of the Cascades of Bend, Ore., which is held by Cascade Bancorp (CACB), which is very likely to drop from the Watch List next quarter.. The holding company raised $177 million in common equity in late January and contributed $150 million of the proceeds to the bank subsidiary, strengthening the bank and holding company "substantially in excess of the capital levels required under the Company's agreements with regulators."

Capitol Bancorp (CBCR) of Lansing, Mich. is the only bank holding company with multiple subsidiaries on the Bank Watch List.

The holding company had 64 separately-charted bank subsidiaries in 17 states at the end of 2009, and was aiming to reduce the number of subsidiaries to 26 in 2010, through sales of some subsidiary banks and mergers of others. As of September 30, Capitol Bancorp had 27 banking subsidiaries. The holding company's Tier 1 leverage ratio was 0.67% and its total risk-based capital ratio was 1.89% as of September 30, according to regulatory data supplied by SNL Financial.

On December 31, Capitol Bancorp announced a new plan to boost capital, which would include authorizing additional common shares, converting trust-preferred securities to newly-issued common shares, a rights offering and potentially a reverse stock split. Interest payments on the trust-preferred securities had been deferred since mid-2009. The exchange offer commenced on January 4 and was closed on January 31, with the company saying on Feb. 10 that it had exchanged $11.8 million in trust-preferreds for 19.5 million new shares of common stock. .

Thorough Bank Failure Coverage

Four banks were shuttered by regulators last Friday.

All previous bank and thrift failures since the beginning of 2008 are detailed in TheStreet's interactive bank failure map:

The bank failure map is color-coded, with the states having the greatest number of failures highlighted in dark gray, and states with no failures in light green. By moving your mouse over a state you can see its combined 2008-2011 totals. Clicking on a state opens a detailed map pinpointing the locations and providing additional information for each bank failure.

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Four Banks Fail; 2011 Tally at 22 >>

5 Banks Hinging on Fed Stress Tests >>

-- Written by Philip van Doorn in Jupiter, Fla.



>To contact the writer of this article, click here: Philip van Doorn.

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