Guest Column: Your local banks merit support

Here in Anne Arundel County, your community banks are in good shape. Sure, they have nonperforming loans, and earnings are not what they have historically been. But the community banks were not originators of subprime loans and, for the most part, have not been investors in the obscure and risky mortgaged-backed securities that have been the demise of Wall Street.

Local community banks are well capitalized and continue making loans in your community. Deposits are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., now with limits up to $250,000. No depositor has ever lost a nickel from an FDIC-insured account. These banks are...