Optimism over the economy is in short supply these days, and Maine banks and credit unions aren’t immune to the turmoil in the larger financial world. Wall Street and Main Street intertwine far more than they did just a decade ago.
The good news is that Maine-based banks are by and large in much better shape than the Wachovias of the national and international stage, according to state banking officials. Many Maine banks avoided involvement in the esoteric financial instruments that dragged down Lehman Brothers and Washington Mutual. Bankrate.com, a website that rates banks and credit unions on a five-star scale, gives just two Maine banks one-star ratings, while almost every local bank in the state, from Bangor Savings and Camden National to Katahdin Trust in Patten, gets four stars. Franklin Savings in Farmington earns a five-star rating. Fourteen credit unions get one or two stars, twenty-two get three, and thirty-two get four or five.
You can check out your bank or credit union at www.bankrate.com.
Posted on Monday, September 29, 2008 in Permalink
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