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BankHealth

Our Methodology

BankHealth analyzes the financial health of every FDIC-insured bank in America. We use publicly available regulatory data to give depositors a clear, honest assessment of their bank's safety. Here is exactly how we do it.

Data Sources

Our primary data source is the FDIC BankFind API (banks.data.fdic.gov/api/), the official public interface to FDIC financial institution data. This API provides quarterly Call Report data for every FDIC-insured bank, including balance sheets, income statements, capital ratios, and loan quality metrics.

We supplement this with the FDIC Failed Banks List to track historical bank failures and identify patterns in the financial metrics that preceded those failures.

How We Calculate the Bank Health Score

Every bank receives a Bank Health Score on a 0-100 scale, mapped to letter grades A through F. The score is a weighted composite of four regulatory health indicators:

  • Tier 1 Capital Ratio — 35% weight. The bank's core equity capital as a percentage of risk-weighted assets. This is the primary measure regulators use to assess a bank's ability to absorb losses. Banks above the "well-capitalized" threshold (6%) score highest; those below 4% are flagged as undercapitalized.
  • Nonperforming Loans Ratio (inverted) — 30% weight. The percentage of loans that are 90+ days past due or in nonaccrual status. Lower is better. A high ratio signals potential credit losses that could erode capital.
  • Liquidity Ratio — 25% weight. Cash and liquid securities as a percentage of total deposits. This measures a bank's ability to meet sudden withdrawal demand — the core risk that caused SVB's failure.
  • Return on Assets — 10% weight. Net income divided by total assets. Positive ROA indicates the bank is generating enough income to sustain operations and build reserves.

Each component is normalized against the national distribution of all FDIC-insured banks, then combined using the weights above. Letter grades: A (80-100), B (65-79), C (50-64), D (35-49), F (0-34).

Data Collection Process

We query the FDIC BankFind API for the most recent quarterly Call Report data for all active FDIC-insured institutions. Financial ratios are calculated from raw balance sheet and income statement figures. We cross-reference institution identifiers (CERT numbers) to ensure continuity when banks merge or change names.

Update Frequency

FDIC Call Report data is published quarterly, approximately 60-75 days after each quarter end. We update our database within one week of each FDIC data release, typically in March, June, September, and December.

Known Limitations

  • Call Report data is self-reported by banks and may not capture all off-balance-sheet risks (such as unrealized losses on held-to-maturity securities — the risk that caused SVB's failure).
  • Our score does not factor in uninsured deposit concentration, which was a key driver in recent bank failures.
  • Credit unions are not included — they are regulated by the NCUA, not the FDIC.
  • The Bank Health Score is our own composite metric, not an official FDIC or regulatory designation. All FDIC-insured deposits remain protected up to $250,000 regardless of a bank's score.

How to Cite This Data

If you use data from BankHealth, please cite:

BankHealth. "[Bank Name] Financial Health Data." bankhealthdata.com, 2026. Accessed [date].

Underlying data is sourced from the FDIC BankFind API and is in the public domain.