Milwaukee-based Marshall & Isley Corp. is among the 20 largest U.S. banks that are still vulnerable to financial difficulties or even possible failure, according to a new report by Weiss Ratings.

Twenty months following the $700 billion federal bailout designed to shore up the nation's largest banks, Weiss Ratings finds that Bank of America, Citibank, Wachovia Bank, HSBC Bank USA, Suntrust Bank, Regions Bank, RBC Citizens, and thousands more are still vulnerable, based on its statistical analysis of each bank's capital, asset quality, earnings and other factors.

Marshall & Ilsley, the parent company of M&I Bank, received a "D" (weak) grade in the report

Overall, 2,259 U.S. banks and S&Ls, controlling $5.8 trillion, or 43.8 percent of the industry's total assets, are considered vulnerable, meriting a Weiss Financial Strength Rating of D+ (weak) or lower; while only 962 institutions, with $484 billion, or 3.7 percent of the industry's assets, are viewed as strong enough to be recommended to consumers, receiving a rating of B+ (good) or higher.

"Major U.S. banks continue to be plagued by toxic assets and an inability to raise capital," explained Martin Weiss, chairman of Weiss Ratings. "Despite the federal government's help, we've witnessed 73 bank failures so far in 2010, more than double last year's pace - a pattern that is bound to continue as further loan deterioration and regulatory reform take their toll on already-shaky banks. Although most vulnerable banks will not ultimately fail, the failure rate could rise sharply if the U.S. experiences any further economic or financial adversity."

Weiss added, "For consumers and also for bank regulators, the big dilemma is that many of the largest banks are still weak, while most of the strongest banks are relatively small and have fewer branches."

To help consumers avoid the weakest institutions and find the strongest in their state, Weiss Ratings released its list of 2,259 weakest and 962 strongest banks to the public. "Given the severity of this situation and the growing difficulty of finding a truly safe place for their money, we have decided to end our former business practice of charging consumers for our ratings," Weiss added.

Among the U.S. banks Weiss Ratings considers vulnerable, there are 20 large institutions with $25 billion or more in assets, among which seven have $100 billion or more, as follows:

Institution                      City             State   Weiss Rating Assets($bil)

Bank of America NA        Charlotte          NC       D       1,465.2

Citibank NA                    Las Vegas          NV       D-      1,161.4

Wachovia Bank NA          Charlotte          NC       D         510.1

HSBC Bank USA NA          McLean             VA       D         167.2

Suntrust Bank                  Atlanta            GA       D-        164.3

Regions Bank                  Birmingham         AL       D         138.0

RBS Citizens NA              Providence         RI       D         116.9

ING Bank FSB                  Wilmington         DE       D          90.3

Keybank NA                   Cleveland          OH       D-         90.2

Union Bank NA                San Francisco      CA       D+         85.2

Sovereign Bank               Wyomissing         PA       D          73.8

Compass Bank                Birmingham         AL       D-         64.6

Ally Bank                        Midvale            UT       D+         55.3

Huntington National Bank Columbus           OH       D-         51.1

M&I Marshall & Ilsley Bank Milwaukee          WI       D          50.3

E*Trade Bank                   Arlington          VA       D-         45.0

Wells Fargo Bank South Central   Houston            TX       D          40.6

Citizens Bank Of Pennsylvania    Philadelphia       PA       D          32.5

RBC Bank (USA)                Raleigh            NC       D-         27.4

First Tennessee Bank NA  Memphis            TN       D          25.8

In the past, Weiss has charged people to view the lists of bank ratings. However, the company's latest lists of strongest and weakest banks are available free by visiting www.weissratings.com/banklists.

"Given the severity of this situation and the growing difficulty of finding a truly safe place for their money, we have decided to end our former business practice of charging consumers for our ratings," Weiss said.