S&P says ALL US banks are "unsafe".

[dixiegrrrrl]

"Every single bank in Japan, the US, Germany, Spain, and Italy included in S&P's list of 45 global lenders fails the 8pc safety level under the agency's risk-adjusted capital (RAC) ratio. Most fall woefully short.

The most vulnerable are Mizuho Financial (2.0), Citigroup (2.1), UBS (2.2), Sumitomo Mitsui (3.5), Mitsubishi (4.9), Allied Irish (5.0), DZ Deutsche Zentral (5.3), Danske Bank (5.4), BBVA (5.4), Bank of Ireland (6.2), Bank of America (5.8), Deutsche Bank (6.1), Caja de Ahorros Barcelona (6.2), and UniCredit (6.3).

While some banks may look healthy under normal Tier 1 and leverage targets, critics claim these measures can be highly misleading since they fail to discriminate between high-risk and low-risk uses of leverage.
( that means hi risk vs. low risk loans, like mortgages )
The system failed to pick up the danger signals before the financial crisis.
The supposedly moderate leverage of US banks in 2007 proved to be a spectacularly useless indicator. "

A must read, more:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/banksandfinance/6638922/Most-global-banks-are-still-unsafe-warns-SandP.html

God, by the time S&P tells the truth, you know it has to be bad.Remember that S&P was accused of falsifying ratings on the derivatives.

[Taverner]

1. The Dark Secret that has been let out is that all banks are now Ponzi Schemes...

[notesdev]

2. When they're all lying

there's no way to know if they're safe, even if the numbers they show tell you so. I'm still trying to figure out why, in the wake of Enron, 'off-balance sheet' items are still permitted.

[dixiegrrrrl]

3. Because the Bush cabal allowed de-regulation

and there was nobody around who cared if any existing laws were enforced.
In fact, existing laws STILL are not being enforced.

[notesdev]

4. The key legislation predates Bush

Graham-Leach-Bliley was the one that opened the floodgates... this has been underway for quite some time.

[marketcrazy1]

7. Graham-Leach-Bliley

was signed into law by Clinton who supported it, only two Dems voted for it ( I believe ) it was hailed by Grenspan and Rubin ( then Treasury Secretary ) as opening the door to a wealth of financial innovation...........Rubin went on to head citigroup "earning hundreds of millions in compensation before it collapsed. that Rubin is one of Obamas top economic advisers sickens me.......

[Snarkoleptic]

5. Research your bank here-

http://nuscho.com/

unofficial trouble list here (it's really more up to date than the stated date of 6/30/09)-
http://bankimplode.com/list/troubledbanks.htm

Keep an eye on your bank's Texas Ratio-
The Texas ratio is a measure of a bank's credit troubles. Developed by Gerard Cassidy and others at RBC Capital Markets, it is calculated by dividing the value of the lender's non-performing assets (Non performing loans + Real Estate Owned) by the sum of its tangible common equity capital and loan loss reserves.

In analyzing Texas banks during the early 1980s recession, Cassidy noted that banks tended to fail when this ratio reached 1:1, or 100%. He noted a similar pattern among New England banks during the recession of the early 1990s.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_ratio

[intheflow]

8. I have three bank accounts.

(I sound wealthy, don't I? It'[s actually just laziness since I hate closing accounts and only keep about $100 in two of them. anyway...) NONE of my banks are on you lists. So I vote that the OP is bullshit.

[chill_wind]

6. K & R.

[pscot]

9. It's been 25 years

since I last kept money in a bank. My credit union works just fine.