153 Banks On the Brink, and Counting

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- There are now 153 undercapitalized institutions on the TheStreet's Bank Watch List, which is only one fewer than last quarter, despite two dozen banks being shuttered by regulators in the meantime.

Based on a now-complete set of third-quarter regulatory data supplied by SNL Financial for the nation's banks and savings and loan associations -- and factoring-in the 24 bank and thrift failures since TheStreet's final second-quarter Watch List was published on August 16 -- 153 institutions were undercapitalized according to the regulatory guidelines that apply to most institutions.

The list is updated from the preliminary Watch List published on Nov. 2, now that all U.S. banks and thrifts have completed their third-quarter regulatory filings.

Click the link below to see the full list:

It is important to note that any capital raised by institutions during the fourth 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.

Three institutions have failed since the preliminary third-quarter watch list was published on Nov. 2, including SunFirst Bank of St. George, Utah, which was unique among bank failures in the current cycle, with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. retaining some of the institution's failed deposits, which were possibly "subject to external litigation." The bank was among several institutions involved in what the U.S. Justice Department called a "poker Ponzi scheme" involving Full Tilt Poker and several other online gaming sites, with a former executive charged with money laundering, according to several reports.

Large banks that the Justice Department said were unwittingly involved in the accusations against the online gaming companies included Bank of America (BAC), Citigroup (C), JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo (WFC).

Two of the banks on the third-quarter watch list were negatively capitalized as of September 30. These include CommunityOne Bank, NA, of Asheboro, N.C., and Premier Community Bank of the Emerald Coast, of Crestview, Fla.

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