Here’s a dirty little secret that you’re not supposed to know about. Your bank may be on the verge of failing. Sure, there are some news stories about it here and there, but you’re not being told the whole truth (you’d think we’d be used to that by now).

Go to this link to find a list of Troubled Banks, and see where your bank is listed. Look at the rightmost column; numbers above 100 are in serious trouble and between 50 and 100 are considered vulnerable.

The bright spot in this is that most banks, at least for now, are looking pretty good.  But if your bank has a Texas Ratio above 50, you’d be wise to consider moving to a safer bank.

That might seem irresponsible to suggest that, as it amounts to suggesting that you make a run on your bank, but let’s be realistic… NO ONE is going to look out for you, other than YOU. If it means that the bank fails because too many people lost confidence and pulled their money out, then too bad for the bank.  They should not have made bad loans in the first place and put their business into such a predicament.

Now is the time for you to closely watch your money. It’s your money; don’t let someone talk you into keeping it someplace where you’re not comfortable, as you’re the one that loses, not them.

Oh, by the way, are you ready for the next onslaught of foreclosures?  Starting about March (2009), we’re going to start seeing another round of house foreclosures as another type of mortgage resets and its interest rate increases.

60 Minutes did a great story on this:

BTW, Happy New Year!

- Rob

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