Banking on banks

Few world news events in recent years have held the attention of so many individuals than the current economic situation. As government officials around the globe struggle to take whatever action will stabilize credit markets and restore confidence, there is a tendency to look for signs of problems close to home rather than in financial capitals.

What we're watching most are things like gasoline prices, the availability of loans, adjustable-rate mortgages, the sinking balances of retirement accounts and the safety of hard-earned money we've managed to sock away.

With the rescue and takeover of some of the nation's biggest banking institutions, many depositors in hometown banks naturally wonder if the banks listed on their checkbooks are going to weather this crisis. From all indications, they will.

Southeast Missouri has seen many home-grown banks start up in recent years, successfully competing with branches of the nation's biggest megabanks. Thanks to the prudent policies of these smaller banks, their depositors have little to worry about as far as the security of their accounts.

And when we hear that on a national level credit has dried up to the point that would-be buyers of cars and homes can't get loans, that's not the case here. Individuals with solid credit and stable incomes can still get loans. But gone are the days of easy credit, which means individuals who have no business applying for loans are likely to be turned down flat.

Most financial experts continue to remind us that our economy has gone through these down cycles before and has always managed to recover. That's hard to remember when there is so much economic chaos -- all of it the result of forces beyond the average wager earner and prudent saver's control.