03/08/2010 – Stress Test: How to Find the Safest Banks in the U.S. and Abroad

Stress test results for the biggest European banks were recently
released, while the largest U.S. banks took their first stress
tests in May 2009. But most people don’t really care how much
stress their banks are under; they are more worried about their
own stress levels. One thing that adds to personal stress is
worrying about whether their deposits are in a safe place. Bob
Prechter has encouraged people to find the safest banks for their
money since he originally wrote his New York Times best-selling
book, Conquer the Crash: You Can Survive and Prosper in a
Deflationary Depression in 2002. This excerpt explains
why banks of all sizes are riskier than they used to be (think
about portfolios stuffed with derivatives, emerging market debt
and non-performing commercial loans). You can also get a list
of the Top 100 Safest U.S. Banks — two banks per state — that
was just updated in late June with the latest available data
by joining Club EWI and receiving EWI’s
Safe Banks report.