Capital Requirements and Regulatory Restrictions

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2012

Banking and Thrift [Abstract]

Regulatory Capital Requirements under Banking Regulations [Text Block]

Note 2
Capital Requirements and Regulatory Restrictions

The Company and the Bank are subject to various regulatory capital requirements administered by the federal banking agencies. Failure to meet minimum capital requirements can result in certain mandatory, and possibly additional discretionary actions by regulators that, if undertaken, could have a direct material effect on the Company’s consolidated financial statements. Under capital adequacy guidelines, the Company and the Bank must meet specific capital guidelines that involve quantitative measures of assets, liabilities and certain off-balance sheet items as calculated under regulatory accounting practices. The Company and the Bank’s capital amounts and classifications are also subject to qualitative judgments by the regulators about components, risk weightings and other factors.

Quantitative measures established by regulators to ensure capital adequacy require the Company and the Bank to maintain minimum amounts and ratios of total and Tier I capital to risk-weighted assets, and of Tier I capital to average assets. Management believes that as of December 31, 2012 and 2011, the Company and the Bank met all capital adequacy requirements to which they are subject. Finalization of the Basel III capital standards is expected later in 2013.

In 2012, the federal bank regulatory agencies issued a series of proposed rules that would revise their risk-based and leverage capital requirements and their method for calculating risk-weighted assets to make them consistent with the agreements that were reached by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision in “Basel III: A Global Regulatory Framework for More Resilient Banks and Banking Systems” and certain provisions of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. Among other things, the proposed rules establish stricter capital requirements and calculation standards, as well as more restrictive risk weightings for certain loans and facilities. The proposed rules are not expected to be implemented until later in 2013.

The Bank is also subject to the regulatory framework for prompt corrective action. As of December 31, 2012 and 2011, the most recent notification from the regulatory agencies categorized the Bank as well-capitalized. To be categorized as well capitalized, the Bank must maintain minimum total risk-based, Tier I risk-based, and Tier I leverage ratios as set forth in the table below. There are no conditions or events since that notification that management believes have changed the Bank’s category.

Subsidiary dividends are a significant source of funds for payment of dividends by the Company to its shareholders. At December 31, 2012, unappropriated retained earnings of $23,397,000 were available at the Bank for the declaration of dividends to the Company without prior approval from regulatory authorities. However, dividends paid by the Bank to the Company would be prohibited if the effect thereof would cause the Bank’s capital to be reduced below applicable minimum capital requirements.

There were no restricted funds on deposit used to meet regulatory reserve requirements at December 31, 2012 and 2011.

The Company’s and the Bank’s actual and required capital amounts and ratios as are as follows:

					Capital				Requirement to be
	Actual				Requirements				Well Capitalized
(In thousands)	Amount		Ratio		Amount		Ratio		Amount		Ratio
At December 31, 2012
Total capital (to risk-weighted assets)
Cass Information Systems, Inc.	$	175,802	19.87	%	$	70,767	8.00	%	$	N/A	N/A	%
Cass Commercial Bank		75,300	13.41			44,909	8.00			56,136	10.00
Tier I capital (to risk-weighted assets)
Cass Information Systems, Inc.		164,729	18.62			35,384	4.00			N/A	N/A
Cass Commercial Bank		68,261	12.16			22,454	4.00			33,682	6.00
Tier I capital (to average assets)
Cass Information Systems, Inc.		164,729	12.26			40,294	3.00			N/A	N/A
Cass Commercial Bank		68,261	10.64			19,238	3.00			32,063	5.00
At December 31, 2011
Total capital (to risk-weighted assets)
Cass Information Systems, Inc.	$	166,605	19.03	%	$	70,033	8.00	%	$	N/A	N/A	%
Cass Commercial Bank		66,851	12.71			42,070	8.00			52,588	10.00
Tier I capital (to risk-weighted assets)
Cass Information Systems, Inc.		155,638	17.78			35,016	4.00			N/A	N/A
Cass Commercial Bank		60,248	11.46			21,035	4.00			31,553	6.00
Tier I capital (to average assets)
Cass Information Systems, Inc.		155,638	11.53			40,502	3.00			N/A	N/A
Cass Commercial Bank		60,248	9.49			19,044	3.00			31,741	5.00