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@yogibearbull - Thanks for your quick response. I did take a look at the Deposit Accounts site before posting, but in checking out Morgan Stanley Bank there I noted that they are being given a pretty poor rating based, according to the site, only "one report".
That seems a bit shaky to me, so I was wondering if there might be a better info source.
I like the idea of looking at NRSRO ratings such as Fitch. Financial institutions will usually give their ratings on their website.
For example, here's Morgan Stanley Bank's ratings. Morgan Stanley has its own credit ratings and separate ratings of its subsidiaries. Scroll past the former to get to the Morgan Stanley Bank ratings.
I also like Weiss (not an NRSRO). From WSJ, May 6, 2010 (subscription required):
Weiss Group LLC, an independent research provider, bought back a financial-institutions rating business it previously sold and intends to apply for the unit to become a "nationally recognized statistical ratings organization," or NRSRO, the group's chairman said.
The unit, Weiss Ratings, produces "financial-safety ratings" for hundreds of U.S. banks and insurance companies and doesn't accept compensation from the companies it rates. ... The ratings from Weiss are meant to be an indicator of the risk and financial soundness of banks and insurance companies. They are similar to the "financial strength ratings" that NRSROs like Moody's Investors Service and A.M. Best currently provide on financial institutions.
FWIW, DepositAccounts has A+ on "Texas Rating" for Morgan Stanley/MS. That alone should be relevant for safety of CDs from MS, not the overall rating.
There is of course FDIC coverage. But the idea is not to chase top rates in CDs but watch bank ratings too. If a bank fails, the high rate CD will be broken - redeemed or reissued. So, recently, Flagstar/NYCB has been offering tiop rates for CDs, but this former rescuer may need a rescue itself.
Keep in mind that both GS and MS got banking charters during the GFC so that they could tap into the Fed's alphabet soup of quick funding programs. But only GS took missteps (!) into retail banking (Marcus, Apple Card, etc). MS didn't do anything but it got into limited banking (CDs, online a/c, etc) via E*Trade Bank when it bought E*TRade. So, while MS is a top notch investment banker, it isn't much of a retail bank, and its ratings or reviews will show that.
There are also ratings by Weiss, S&P, Moody's, Fitch, FDIC, state commissioners - not all may be free or readily available.
While it does not give an actual overall rating, quarterly financial call reports are are prepared and submitted by banks to a repository. Uniform Bank Performance Reports (UBPRs) are generated based on the information submitted from those call reports which have financial ratios in comparison to their peers.
You can check the FFIEC website for public information.
Comments
https://www.depositaccounts.com/banks/health.aspx
That seems a bit shaky to me, so I was wondering if there might be a better info source.
For example, here's Morgan Stanley Bank's ratings. Morgan Stanley has its own credit ratings and separate ratings of its subsidiaries. Scroll past the former to get to the Morgan Stanley Bank ratings.
I also like Weiss (not an NRSRO). From WSJ, May 6, 2010 (subscription required): Here's Weiss' rating of Morgan Stanley Bank, and Weiss' page describing its bank ratings in detail.
DepositAccounts rates Morgan Stanley Bank a B+ for health. The single 3* rating that you see is just a subjective rating by a user apparently disappointed with the rate offered on a CD. It has nothing to do with safety, which end users are ill equipped to comment on.
https://www.depositaccounts.com/banks/morgan-stanley-bank-national-association.html#health
There is of course FDIC coverage. But the idea is not to chase top rates in CDs but watch bank ratings too. If a bank fails, the high rate CD will be broken - redeemed or reissued. So, recently, Flagstar/NYCB has been offering tiop rates for CDs, but this former rescuer may need a rescue itself.
Keep in mind that both GS and MS got banking charters during the GFC so that they could tap into the Fed's alphabet soup of quick funding programs. But only GS took missteps (!) into retail banking (Marcus, Apple Card, etc). MS didn't do anything but it got into limited banking (CDs, online a/c, etc) via E*Trade Bank when it bought E*TRade. So, while MS is a top notch investment banker, it isn't much of a retail bank, and its ratings or reviews will show that.
There are also ratings by Weiss, S&P, Moody's, Fitch, FDIC, state commissioners - not all may be free or readily available.
You can check the FFIEC website for public information.
https://www.ffiec.gov/
Go to this website, and click on "Banks", and it will give you a bunch of information about specific banks, including Bank Ratings.
Thanks to all!