The FDIC maintains a "watch list" of banks that may be experiencing financial problems. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is a U.S. government entity that provides insurance for deposited accounts at member institutions and is charged with monitoring an helping minimize banking risks and the potential impact on the economy when a bank fails.http://www.fdic.gov/about/learn/symbol/index.html .This list may be called the watch list or troubled banks list. Unlike its list of failed banks, the FDIC does not make the names of the banks on the list available to the public.http://www.fdic.gov/bank/individual/failed/banklist.html The names are not released because the FDIC does not want individuals to pull money out of a troubled bank due to their list status. Pulling money from an unstable bank could push it to be a failed bank.http://www.thehardmoneypros.com/FDIC_bank_watchlist_failed_banks.shtmThey do, however, provide a list of outside bank rating services that can help consumers assess the financial stability of a variety of different banking institutions.

The FDIC does release a comprehensive database of financial statistics that can be used to analyze individual institutions, or banking industry segments. The report is issued approximately 55 days after the end of the fiscal quarter. Fiscal quarters end on March 31, June 30, September 30, and December 31.http://www2.fdic.gov/qbp/index.asp

The FDIC Quarterly is a publication from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation that summarizes the current banking industry results. The document reviews profits, losses, earnings. It also lists the number of banks listed on the FDIC bank watch list and compares the banking sector results with historical norms. In addition to status reports, articles regarding industry regulations, trends and information that can impact the banking system and banking stability are included. These reports are offered for free on the FDIC.gov website.http://www.fdic.gov/bank/analytical/quarterly/

The followig organizations provide lists of banks that have been evaluated based on statistcs released by the FDIC and that are considered to be at isk of failure. The banks on these lists are believed to likely be considered 'problems" by the FDIC as well, and also appear on the internal FDIC Bank Watch List.http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/wiki/FDIC_Watch_List_for_Banks_and_Thrifts.asp

• A.M. Best Company
• Bankrate Inc.
• BauerFinancial, Inc.
• Creative Investment Research, Inc.
• FIS - Financial Information Systems, LLC
• Highline Data LLC
• IDC Financial Publishing
• Institutional Risk Analytics
• LACE Financial Corp.
• Veribanc
• Weiss Ratings Inc.

"These are challenging times...More banks will come on the list as credit problems worsen." —FDIC chairman, Sheila Bair