Safe and Sound

First Secure Bank and Trust Co.

Palos Hills, IL
Star Rating
First Secure Bank and Trust Co. is an FDIC-insured bank started in 1977 and currently based in Palos Hills, IL. As of December 31, 2017, the bank had equity of $10.8 million on $117.3 million in assets.

With 17 full-time employees, the bank holds loans and leases worth $92.9 million, including real estate loans of $91.3 million. U.S. bank customers currently have $105.0 million in deposits with the bank.

Overall, Bankrate believes that, as of December 31, 2017, First Secure Bank and Trust Co. exhibited a good condition, earning 4 out of 5 stars for safety and soundness. Keep reading for an analysis of how the bank did on the three key criteria Bankrate used to evaluate U.S. banks.


Find out


Capital Score

Capital is a valuable measurement of a bank's financial fortitude. It works as a cushion against losses and provides protection for accountholders when a bank is experiencing economic instability. From a safety and soundness perspective, the higher the capital, the better.

First Secure Bank and Trust Co. received a score of 10 out of a possible 30 points on our test to measure the adequacy of a bank's capital, coming in below the national average of 13.13.

One widely followed measure of this buffer is a bank's Tier 1 capital ratio. First Secure Bank and Trust Co.'s Tier 1 capital ratio was 12.97 percent, above the 6 percent level considered adequate by regulators, but below the national average of 25.65 percent. A higher capital ratio suggests the bank will be better able to weather financial downturns.

Overall, First Secure Bank and Trust Co. held equity amounting to 9.19 percent of its assets, which was lower than the national average of 12.03 percent.

Asset Quality Score


Having extensive holdings of these kinds of assets means a bank may have to use capital to cover losses, cutting down on its cushion of equity. It also means that there are likely to be many assets that are in non-accrual status and no longer earning interest for the bank, decreasing earnings and elevating the risk of a future failure.

On Bankrate's test of asset quality, First Secure Bank and Trust Co. scored 40 out of a possible 40 points, beating out the national average of 37.49 points.

The percentage of problem assets a bank holds compared to its total assets is a widely used indicator of asset quality.As of December 31, 2017, 0.15 percent of First Secure Bank and Trust Co.'s loans were noncurrent, meaning they were more than 90 days past due or were in non-accrual status. That's below the national average of 1.01 percent.

Banks maintain a reserve to handle troubled assets known as an "allowance for loan and lease losses." How large that reserve is can be a helpful indicator when evaluating a bank's ability to manage problem assets, especially when compared to the total amount of problem loans. Unfortunately, the FDIC did not provide information on First Secure Bank and Trust Co.'s loan loss allowance in its most recent filings.

Earnings score

How profitable a bank is affects its safety and soundness. Earnings can be retained by the bank, expanding its capital buffer, or be used to deal with problematic loans, potentially making the bank better prepared to withstand financial trouble. Conversely, losses reduce a bank's ability to do those things.

First Secure Bank and Trust Co. did below-average on Bankrate's test of earnings, achieving a score of 12 out of a possible 30.

One key way to measure a bank's earnings is return on equity, or net income (profit, basically) divided by total equity. The most recent annualized quarterly return on equity for First Secure Bank and Trust Co. was 6.85 percent, below the national average of 8.10 percent.

The bank recorded net income of $617,000 on total equity of $10.8 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2017. The bank had an annualized return on average assets, or ROA, of 0.62 percent, below the 1 percent deemed satisfactory in accordance with industry standards and below the average for U.S. banks of 1.00 percent.

