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21 Comments

  1. Hi Catherine
    We belong to an Orlando credit union,
    FairWinds and were considering moving more money into it for increased safety. Recently, they bought Citizens National Bank of Oviedo FL.

    I thought banks and credit unions were two separate banking vehicles. Can you explain this to me…also do you think this credit union is safer than one that is purely a credit union and not a hybrid.?

    Thanks
    Donna Fraser

  2. Hi Catherine, Thank you for providing these questions. I am not clear on terms like naked short selling, Bear raids etc. I would also have a difficult time determining how to evaluate the bank’s responses.

    Thank you for all the work you do!

  3. Hi Catherine – I connected with a new Bank and have asked for info like you suggest. Here is what I received. While I realize this is a public forum, they did send this to me, so I thought it would be okay to post here. Plus I thought it might help others. What do you think about this Bank? It looks good to me but I wanted you to weigh in.
    ——————————–
    Thank you so much for your inquiries earlier this week about Bell Bank and how safe your deposits will be with us. Below are some reassurances on why your deposits are safe with Bell Bank:
     
    ·         We are all benefited by the swift action taken by the FDIC and Federal Reserve over the weekend to support banks and help prevent any type of “run on the banks” contagion that could have impacted the entire banking industry.
    ·         The failed banks (Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank) both had some very unique attributes (crypto/tech sector exposure, large bond portfolios, concentrated deposit bases) that exposed them to catastrophic trouble as interest rates rose. Bell Bank does not share those attributes.
    ·         Our bank has virtually no nonperforming loan issues and is well capitalized – and we are strengthened by the fact we have no debt at our holding company.
    ·         Bell Bank has a very diverse deposit base. While both SVB and Signature reportedly had the vast majority of their deposits in uninsured accounts, Bell Bank (like most of our community bank peers) has nearly 90% of our deposits insured by the FDIC, which creates great stability. We also have excess liquidity on our balance sheet.
    ·         Perhaps our greatest strength: Bell Bank is privately owned and therefore not subject to sudden downward price movements that can cause capitalization shortfalls for publicly traded banks.
     
    See below for quantitative reassurance on our asset quality:
     
    ·         Bell Bank maintains an asset structure centered in a diversified loan and lease portfolio. As of 12/31/22:
    o   Loan and lease portfolio represents 87% of total assets, investments represent 8% (zero cryptocurrency exposure), other assets represent 5%.
    o   Loan and lease portfolio composition consists of 43% commercial real estate, 27% residential real estate, 18% commercial & industrial loans, 12% agricultural and other loans. 
    o   No loan/lease categories exceed regulatory concentration thresholds.
    ·         Bell Bank has maintained strong asset quality and outperformed industry peers both currently, and throughout the Great Recession.
    o   The following metrics are contained in the Bank’s publicly available Uniform Bank Performance Report (UBPR) – full report can be accessed here:  FFIEC UPBR Reports

     Although we expect some continued market volatility and macroeconomic uncertainty as we move forward, Bell Bank remains well-capitalized, financially strong and positioned well for long-term success.

  4. Thank you Catherine for your insights. I have been following your YouTube interviews for a few years and because of you I began preparing over 2 years ago. Now, I just have to sort out a better banking system here in UK.

  6. Hello Catherine. I didn’t want this to go under the radar, as it could be important regarding Credit Unions. On twitter of all places, the NCUA posted this message
    “ The NCUA seeks a talented Attorney Advisor (General) responsible for legal research on operational matters of federally insured credit unions, including federal regulations and legislation affecting the NCUA and financial services industry. https://go.ncua.gov/3lNW9dn “
    Do you know of any laws, or regulations that could be in the works for changing the way Credit Unions asre structured? I hope I’m merely over suspicious.
    Just as a FYI, the U.N. actually has their own CU membership too. Hoping They won’t be recommending Attorney Advisors

    1. Tons of Laws related to new regulation,including crypto and money laundering, FedNow and CBDC

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