Poring over your bank s latest financial results may not be your idea of a good time. But if you d like to have a better understanding of how the institution that handles your money whether it s your bank, credit-card issuer, mortgage servicer or all of the above -- fared last year and, more importantly, what you can expect in the year ahead, it could be time well spent.

And now is the time. This week marks the kickoff of earnings season for banks to report fourth-quarter 2009 results. JP Morgan Chase is slated to report on Friday, Jan. 15. Other big banks, including Citigroup, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Capital One and American Express, report the following week.

Of course, if you re not a frequent reader of income statements or balance sheets, you may find yourself overwhelmed with numbers, abbreviations and incomprehensible accounting terms. But beyond those numbers, you can often find stories that will give you a good idea of your bank s goals and strategies for the coming year, especially if you take the time to listen in to the conference call that supplements the release of the earnings report. It s a lot less about the individual numbers than about understanding the overall health and direction of the institution, says Ron Shevlin, a senior analyst who covers the retail banking industry for financial research firm Aite Group. Is my bank trending toward closing branches? Is it a merger candidate? It s not catastrophic news, but it might create hassles for the consumer.

The good news is, you don t need an accounting degree to glean some useful information from your bank s earnings announcement. Here are three places to look.

1. Balance sheet highlights: the Tier 1 Ratio

There are a few basic indicators in the earnings report that will give you a fair idea of your bank s financial well-being. Chief among those is the Tier 1 ratio, which tells you how much capital the bank has set aside to absorb losses. For more details, read our guide, Is Your Bank Healthy? How to Diagnose It Yourself.

What to expect: While a bank s Tier 1 ratio needs to be around 6% for a bank to be considered well-capitalized, in this environment most banks will be at around 10% or even higher, says Jamie Peters, an equity analyst who covers banks for investment research firm Morningstar. A lot of banks have built up and hold more capital than they used to because of problem assets on their balance sheets, she says.

2. Management discussion / Investor presentation

This part of the earnings call should bring the numbers to life. In the conference call, the bank s executives typically present an overview of the state of the business, focusing on the main issues and challenges of the past year. It s like a story, says Dennis Moroney, a research director at financial-services research group TowerGroup. They have to talk about where they think there are opportunities, risks, and what they re doing to address them.

What to expect: Two big issues this season will be how banks are reacting to regulatory changes affecting their credit-card and deposit businesses. These will be the last public statements many bank CEOs make before the new credit law goes into effect Feb. 22, says Morningstar s Peters. New overdraft rules, meanwhile, will go into effect in six months. Expect to hear how banks have reacted to these changes in hopes of staying profitable.

Smaller banks, which rely on fees associated with deposit accounts, will have a lot to say about the new overdraft-fee regulations. At Minnesota-based TCF Financial Corporation, approximately 40% of revenue comes from fees associated with deposit accounts, such as overdraft, ATM and interchange fees, says Peters. The bank will likely address how they plan to adapt to the new regulatory environment. You ll hear stories about new checking products that include monthly service charges, minimum account balances and other policies they re going to use to compensate lost revenue, Peters says.

Another hot topic that will likely be addressed is executive compensation, especially at banks that have started paying back TARP funds.

3. Q&A sessions

If you happened to fall asleep during the investor presentation part of the earnings call, the Q&A section is the time to wake up. This is when industry and equity analysts drill down into management s presentations. The analysts are trying to get behind the numbers and will ask questions like What does this mean, or Is this a particular weakness that needs to be addressed? says Aite Group s Shevlin.

What to expect: Further questions about lending, executive pay, and banks credit-card and deposit-account strategies.

Earnings Calendar (All times EST)

JP Morgan Chase: Friday, Jan. 15, 2010. 9 a.m.
Dial (866) 541-2724 or (877) 368-8360. The live webcast will be available at the bank s investor relations web site.*

Citigroup: Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2010. 11 a.m.
Dial (877) 700-4194 for the teleconference. Conference code: 45893765. The webcast will be available here.

Bank of America: Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2010. 9:30 a.m.
The live webcast will be available here.

Wells Fargo: Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2010. 10:30 a.m.
Dial (866) 872-5161 for the live conference or listen to the webcast here.

KeyCorp: Thursday, Jan. 21, 2010. 9 a.m.
A live audio webcast will be available here.

TCF Financial: Thursday, Jan. 21, 2010. 11 a.m.
Dial (877) 245-6230 for the live teleconference or click here for the webcast.

Capital One Financial Corp.: Thursday, Jan. 21, 2010. 5 p.m.
Will be webcast here.

American Express: Thursday, Jan. 21, 2010. 5 pm.
Live webcast here.

SunTrust Banks: Friday, Jan. 22, 20010. 8 a.m.
Live webcast here.

* Webcast transcripts are typically posted on the bank s Investor Relations web site shortly after the end of the call, along with the accompanying press release and earnings report.