Area banks among 'safest' in the US, according to new report

Several banks in the immediate Gainesville area are on a list of the 369 safest in the county, according to a new report.

They are in Winder, Gainesville, Duluth, Braselton and Cumming.

The report was issued by investinganswers.com, and uses the Texas ratio which was developed by a financial expert at RBC Capital Markets named Gerard Cassidy, who used it to correctly predict bank failures in Texas during the 1980s recession, and again in New England during the recession of the early 1990s.

Experts say while the ratio has been excellent at predicting bank failures, it can also be used to find the banks that are the furthest from failure. According to the formula that is used, the closer the Texas ratio gets to zero, the lower the bank's risk of failure.

Out of more than 7,300, there are just 359 banks in America with a perfect Texas ratio of 0.0.

The banks in Georgia that are included are:

Verity Bank Winder
NOA Bank Duluth
Community Business Bank Cumming
Independence Bank of Georgia Braselton
Chattahoochee Bank of Georgia Gainesville
Invesco National Trust Company Atlanta

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