LACE Financial specializes in issuing credit ratings of financial institutions.  Founded in 1984, the company has been recognized as an impartial and innovative leader in providing credit rating services on approximately 19,000 domestic and international financial institutions, title insurers, trust preferred security issues, and foreign country sovereign ratings.  LACE Financial does not accept compensation for its ratings and is therefore independent and unbiased when assigning credit ratings.  Typical clients which use LACE Financial's credit ratings include cash managers and treasurers of Fortune 500 companies, state municipalities and other government agencies, investment banks and portfolio managers. Each quarter, LACE Financial Corporation provides its clients with up-to-date credit ratings on, approximately:

• 7,900 Commercial and Savings Banks
• 1,000 Bank Holding Companies
• 850 Savings & Loans
• 8,700 Credit Unions
• 250 of the Largest Foreign Banks
• 95 Title Insurance Companies

LACE Financial also assigns sovereign ratings to roughly 60 countries.   In addition, LACE Financial rates debt and security issues of banks and thrifts with a comprehensive report tailored specifically to our clients' needs.  For details on all of our products and services please click here.

As a credit rating agency, LACE Financial bases its business on accuracy and timeliness and is committed to providing valuable credit rating services and consultation through talented analytical resources in a manner that best fits our clients' needs.  For a list of recent accurate ratings that preceded bank failures in the U.S., please click here.

LACE Financial's methodology, and hence its name, is derived from the four major components of financial soundness: Liquidity, Asset Quality, Capital Adequacy, and Earnings.  The company uses complex computer models, based on the four core components to provide an overview of an institutions' financial condition, in conjunction with an quantitative and qualitative analysis by a team of financial analysts.

Our analysts review each institution's financial condition on a quarterly basis, providing our clients with a means to quickly evaluate its overall financial soundness. It is important to note the trend and stability of the LACE Rating; a downward trend in the financial ratings would indicate deterioration in the organization's financial condition. Continuous changes in the financial ratings may be indicative of instability.  Banking organizations with low ratings (C, D or E) are likely to have financial problems and alert the user that they should take measures to secure these credits.

Lace Financial Fundamentals

• LACE Financial provides unbiased and highly accurate ratings to the financial community based on a strong analytical approach using the LACE model of liquidity, asset quality, capitalization and earnings, while also taking into account regulatory and economic changes affecting the banking industry as a whole.
  
  
• LACE Financial is able to assign ratings that are conventional to standards set in the marketplace and thus are accepted in confidence by the market.
  
  
• LACE Financial does not accept compensation from rated institutions and financial consultation is the source of LACE revenues. This allows LACE Financial to maintain an unbiased position when issuing ratings.
  
  
• LACE Financial aims to provide easily understandable explanations of the analysis used in a particular institution's rating to both the users of our credit ratings and the rated organization itself.
  
  
• Experienced analysts are employed with a wide array of expertise in the financial industry, economics, accounting and statistics. Before a rating is assigned a senior analyst will review any rating actions.
  
  
• Statement of Confidentiality and Code of Conduct