Tangible common equity (TCE ), the subset of shareholders' equity that is not preferred equity and not intangible assets ,[ 1] [ 2] is an uncommonly used measure of a company's financial strength. It indicates how much ownership equity owners of common stock would receive in the event of a company's liquidation . During the financial and economic crisis of 2008–2009, it gained public popularity as a measure of the viability of large commercial banks .
When used in a ratio with tangible common assets, it measures a bank's ability to absorb losses (e.g., homeowners defaulting on mortgages ) before becoming insolvent. It is one of the factors considered by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to determine if a bank has become insolvent.
TCE = total equity – intangible assets – goodwill – preferred stock [citation needed ]
tangible assets = total assets - intangible assets - goodwill - preferred stock
TCE ratio = TCE / (tangible assets) [citation needed ]
Leverage ratio = (total assets – intangible assets – goodwill) / TCE [citation needed ]
Example
On February 27, 2009, the U.S. Government converted preferred shares to common shares to increase Citigroup 's tangible common equity.[ 3] In this example, the company's total equity remained the same, but its preferred equity decreased, thereby increasing common equity (and TCE).
See also
References