The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is alerting the public that Bank Rate Monitor's "Safe and Sound Bank and Thrift Rating System," posted on its Web site, is not affiliated with the FDIC. Bank Rate Monitor is an Internet publication.
Bank Rate Monitor's Web page indicates that the "system" assesses the financial condition of banks and thrifts based upon publicly available "Call Report" (report of condition and income) data. It specifies that the ratings "are based on tests of the institutions' Capitalization, Asset Quality, Earnings, and Liquidity (CAEL)." The acronym "CAEL" is used throughout the Web page.
CAEL is an official FDIC acronym and is closely associated with supervisory ratings. The FDIC is concerned that readers of Bank Rate Monitor's Internet site may mistakenly believe that Bank Rate Monitor's CAEL system reflects actual FDIC CAEL ratings.
Bankers and other members of the public should be aware that depository institution ratings in the "Safe and Sound Bank and Thrift Rating System" on Bank Rate Monitor's Internet site are not based on, and should not be confused with, the FDIC's CAEL system. The FDIC does not endorse the ratings of Bank Rate Monitor, nor does the FDIC necessarily agree with the ratings assigned by Bank Rate Monitor.
