More Iowa banks on 'recommended' list in 1st quarter

A higher percentage of Iowa banks were recommended by BauerFinancial, an independent bank-rating firm, based on first-quarter data reported to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

Coral Gables, Fla.-based BauerFinancial recommended 88.4 percent of Iowa banks on March 31, up from 84.5 percent at the end of the first quarter of 2012. A total of 2.1 percent of Iowa banks made BauerFinancial's "troubled and problematic" list at the end of the most recent quarter, down from 2.6 percent at the end of the same quarter last year.

The percentage of Iowa credit unions recommended by BauerFinancial slipped to 79.7 percent at the end of the first quarter from 82.5 percent at the end of the first three months of 2012. Consequently, the percentage of Iowa credit unions considered "troubled and problematic" rose from none at the end of the first quarter of 2012 to 1.7 percent at the end of the same quarter this year.

BauerFinancial continued to rate three Iowa banks with "zero" stars due to their financial condition at the end of the first quarter.

First Bank of West Des Moines ended the period with a loss of $230,000, Tier I capital of $4.3 million and $7.3 million of troubled assets, down from $9.7 million at the end of the first quarter of 2012.

Liberty Bank of West Des Moines, with a branch in Cedar Rapids, ended the first quarter with a loss of $2.4 million, Tier I capital $19.3 million and $42.6 million of troubled assets, down sharply from $88.1 million at the end of the same period last year.

State Central Bank of Keokuk posted a first-quarter loss of $947,000, Tier I capital of $3.7 million and troubled assets of $14.8 million, an improvement from $22.2 million at the end of the first quarter of 2012.

Two Iowa credit unions were rated a single star (troubled) or zero stars at the end of the first quarter by BauerFinancial.

First Federal Credit Union of Cedar Rapids ended the quarter with a single star rating and a $2.65 million profit, compared with a $9.7 million loss in 2012. Scott Schools Credit Union in Davenport was rated zero stars by BauerFinancial with an $873,000 loss on March 31, compared with four-star rating and a $168,000 profit in 2012.

Iowa's largest credit union, Veridian Credit Union in Waterloo, ended the first quarter with a five-star rating and a profit of $4.6 million. The state's second-largest credit union, University of Iowa Community Credit Union in Waterloo, ended the first quarter with a four-star rating and a profit of $7.2 million.