Ranking the risk of Indy’s biggest bank

Little ink has been spilled locally about the risk level of the largest bank operating in the state—JPMorgan Chase.
But a New York University professor who ranks the worst financial institutions in the country reckons it isn’t in the
best condition.

Thomas Cooley’s list of the 10 riskiest financial institutions in the country places JPMorgan Chase roughly in the
middle of the lot. The list is at Forbes.com.

The New York-based giant would lose 5.05 percent of its equity value if the entire stock market fell 2 percent, Cooley projects.
Lump in the other riskiest firms—Citigroup, Bank of America and Goldman Sachs—and the four would generate more
than half the shortfall of capital if there were to be a crisis.

The bank is huge in the Indianapolis area. With 2,000 workers, it’s nearly twice the size of its nearest competitor,
National City Bank, which is being absorbed by PNC Bank. Both the consumer and private wealth group operate in its tower downtown,
and the student loan business is adding 50 to its roster of 350.

What are your thoughts about JPMorgan Chase?