To the Editor:

    Why would our Board of Education (BOE) leaders entrust Bank of Madison with millions of funds when, as of June 2012, the bank had the highest "troubled asset ratio" (TAR) of other area banks? (source: http://banktracker.investigativereportingworkshop.org/banks/georgia/madi...)
    According to Bank Tracker, TAR is a percentage or ratio which is a strong indicator of "...severe stress inside a bank because it shows the bank’s ability to withstand loan losses.”  Apparently, the higher the ratio, the higher the risk of the bank's failure.  As of June 2012, Bank Tracker reported Bank of Madison as having a TAR of 37.80 percent as compared to SunTrust (16.90 percent), Regions (20.90 percent) and United (24.30 percent).  Bank Tracker reported the National Median TAR at 12.00 percent.
    Taxpayers may view the BOE's decision as a risk but it may have just been one of simple convenience, given a BOE member's connection to the bank. Unfortunately for taxpayers, the BOE's questionable decision to select the
Bank of Madison and adherence to Georgia Code 20-2-63 must have been out of scope of the recent audit performed by the state Department of Audits.  

Thomas Ray
Madison
Via e-mail

Printed in the October 25, 2012 edition