Reuters

Moody’s recent downgrade of 15 of the world’s largest banks, along with JP Morgan Chase Co.’s (JPM ) multibillion trading loss, makes it clear that certain big banks are just not as safe as depositors might have hoped. Still, consumers have to keep their money somewhere.

24/7 Wall St. has compiled a list of the safest banks to help consumers navigate through continued difficult times. The criteria were very strict. We focused on the universe of the money-center banks, super-regional banks and banks with retail branches that encompass several states

24/7 screened for banks with a market capitalization of more than $2 billion. We further screened for banks whose share value is be less than 14 times earnings (P/E ratio). The share price to book value had to be less than 2.0. The bank had to have a minimum return on equity of 8%. To demonstrate how confident a candidate bank is, it had to pay its common holders a dividend yield of 2.0% or higher.

We also only chose financial institutions with an investment grade credit rating by ratings agencies, and Wall St. analysts had to value the bank’s share price above the current price. We also did not consider regional banks with fewer than 100 branches. All but one stock of the banks on our list trade above $10.00 per common share. We also gave preference if Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK-A ) is an owner of the common shares.

We remained focused on the top 50 banks by assets with a large retail banking presence, so even though the fiduciary banks of State Street Corporation (STT ) and Bank of New York Mellon (BK ) fit our initial screening criteria, they were not included. The “problem banks,” which include Citigroup Inc. (C ) and Bank of America Corporation (BAC ), were excluded even though it would seem nearly impossible that depositors would have any risk with them. We also chose to avoid regional banks located in the troubled Southeast and the entire Pacific Coast, where so many faced financial troubles from housing and lending during and after the recession. We left off some of the large banks that have been involved very recently in mergers and acquisitions. Finally, we absolutely eliminated banks where we had concerns about their viability and survival during another recession.

Here are the seven safest banks in America to deposit money:

1. Wells Fargo Company

Wells Fargo Company (WFC ) is the undisputed safest bank in America, now that JP Morgan Chase Co. (JPM ) has come under scrutiny — even if Chase has about $1 trillion more in assets. Wells Fargo has branches in almost every state in the United States, with some 6,200 storefront branches and more than 12,000 ATMs. The bank has an asset base of over $1.3 trillion. To prove how safe this bank is, Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK-A ) owns close to $13 billion worth of the common stock, and that stake keeps rising. The market cap is a whopping $171 billion. The shares trade at less than 9 times earnings and at almost 1.2 times book value. The return on equity is just above 12%, and the bank offers a 2.7% dividend yield to the common holders. While shares trade at around $32.50, Wall St. values the top bank at almost $38.00 per share.

2. JP Morgan Chase Co.

Despite the media attention surrounding the JP Morgan Chase Co.’s (JPM ) multibillion dollar trading loss, the firm is still in good shape compared to many of its peers. It has a fortresslike balance sheet, with about $2.3 trillion in assets, and CEO Jamie Dimon said the only risk to the bank’s failure is a collision of the earth and moon. Despite the share price decline following the trading loss, the company still has a sizable market cap of $135.17 billion. JP Morgan shares trade at less than 8 times earnings and only about 0.7 times book value. The return on equity is 9.8%, and the company pays a dividend yield of 3.4% on the common stock. While the bank shares are trading at just over $36, analysts value the company at $47 a share.