SSBI's book value is just under $10; I'll worry about selling somewhere north of there, and collect the divvie in the meantime.

This is not for everyone, and I expect it to be a long-term play. They have a stunning lending record with very few problem loans, trade at 2/3 book value and yield about 6% dividends too.

I was working from an independent research report comparing nonperforming loans at CA banks with their TCE and reserves for bad loans. SSBI came in among the best.

They have a $55m book value compared to a $302m loan book. It would take much more than a small write-down to dent that. As of March 31, just over 1% of the loan portfolio was nonperforming. Reserves for bad loans exceed the NPAs.

If the loans are still paying, they don't get written down. That's my only answer to "Have they written down enough?" It is not just a function of real estate prices, not at all if the borrower is current on the loan.

Solvency isn't even an issue here.