A Statement About Creditworthiness
College Savings Bank, which began operations in September 1987, has been helping families fund education for more than 20-years. Our mission statement is as follows:
“To be a partner to parents who are preparing their children for higher education. We are in the financial business, but as a partner, we treat all of our beneficiaries like family members - and in as such, deliver products and services to the market that we would want as parents ourselves.”
The Bank originates and markets Certificates of Deposit (CDs) including the CollegeSure CD and the InvestorSure CD. Each is an innovative, unique saving-for-college investment featuring FDIC insurance up to $250,000 per depositor and principal protection.
At College Savings Bank we believe our first priority is to preserve investor assets, therefore protect a child’s future. Our CDs guarantee principal at maturity. And market conditions cannot affect the pledge we make to our families.
The Bank's success to date can be measured in part by its nationwide customer base, its distribution arrangements with nationally recognized broker/dealers, financial planners, employee benefit programs of national companies. Further, the Bank is the program manager for tax-advantaged, section 529 programs such as the Montana Family Education Savings Program and the Arizona Family College Savings Program which are available nationwide.
The Bank is strongly capitalized and operates under a conservative investment policy. On September 30, 2008, the Bank had regulatory capital ratio of Tier 1 (or core) capital to total assets of 5.63%
The Bank invests primarily in high-grade, adjustable-rate mortgage-backed securities, the majority of which are guaranteed by the U.S. government or its agencies as well as student loans through the Federal Student Loan Program. The Bank limits its investments in this manner in order to avoid the types of credit risks that have often financially impaired other banks. The Bank designs its investment portfolio and updates that portfolio periodically to match the interest rate sensitivities of its assets and liabilities. It pursues this matching to avoid the extreme interest rate exposure that has adversely affected many other banks.
A measure of the exceptionally high quality of the Bank's investment portfolio is found in the Bank's Tier 1 capital-to-risk-weighted-asset ratio under the FDIC's risk-based capital guidelines. On September 30, 2008 this ratio was 20.91%, as compared to the statutory minimum requirement of 4.00%.
College Savings Bank is a member of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, which means that the Bank's deposits are insured by the Bank Insurance Fund of the FDIC up to $250,000 per depositor.
The combination of FDIC insurance, the Bank's high Tier 1 capital-to-total-asset and risk-based capital ratios as well as the Bank's conservative investment policy ensures the safety of your deposits. We believe no other financial institution offers its customers a more complete college funding solution.