NEW YORK–In addition to releasing its ranking of the top-performing credit unions in the U.S. (see story here),  S&P Global Market Intelligence has also released its annual rankings for 2024’s best-performing banks.

Specifically, its ranking cover community banks with assets between $3 billion and $10 billion, community banks with assets below $3 billion, U.S. public banks with more than $10 billion in total assets and community banks by region for the Northeast, South Central, Southeast, West and Midwest.

S&P Global Market Intelligence said it ranked the institutions based on returns, growth and funding but places a premium on the strength and risk profile of balance sheets. The rankings were launched in 2011 to assess the performance of banks and credit unions.

National Rankings:

Best Performing U.S. Public Bank with more than $10 billion in assets: Axos Financial Inc., formerly known as BofI Holding Inc.Axos Financial was the only bank in the analysis to achieve a top 20 score for all seven ranking metrics and the lone bank with top 10 scores in five of the metrics.

Best Performing U.S. Community Bank with between $3 billion and $10 billion in assets: Olney Bancshares of Texas Inc. With $4.53 billion in total assets as of Dec. 31, 2024, “Olney outshined its peers in six of the eight metrics analyzed. The bank ranked number 17 in S&P Global Market Intelligence’s 2023 rankings,” the company said.

Best Performing U.S. Community Bank with under $3 billion in assets: FNB South. “The bank beat the top 100 median in the ranking metrics for credit quality, capital ratio and deposit growth. FNB South’s return on average assets before taxes and extraordinary item adjustments was 2.69%, well above the overall median of 1.08%,” S&P Market Intelligence stated. 

Regional Rankings

Best Performing Midwest Bank with under $10 billion in assets: American Interstate Bank. The bank received the highest overall performance score when evaluated against eight performance metrics, having performed better in six metrics when compared to the median of the top 50 community banks in the Midwest and seven metrics versus the median of all banks eligible for ranking, the report states.

Best Performing Northeast Bank with under $10 billion in assets NorthEast Community Bank. The bank had an equal or better value than the median of the top 50 community banks in the region in seven of the eight metrics analyzed.

Best Performing Southeast Bank with under $10 billion in assets: FNB South. The bank outperformed the top 50 median in the analysis in seven of the eight metrics and performed better in all eight metrics compared to the median for all eligible banks. FNB South was also ranked as the Best Performing U.S. Community Bank with under $3 billion in assets in the 2024 national rankings.

Best Performing South Central Bank with under $10 billion in assets: First State Bank of Odem. First State Bank of Odem received the highest overall performance score when evaluated against eight performance metrics. The bank performed better in six metrics compared to the median of the top 50 community banks in the South Central as well as seven metrics versus the median for all banks eligible for ranking.

Best Performing West Bank with under $10 billion in assets: Security State Bank. According to S&P Global Market Intelligence, the bank outdid the top 50 banks’ median rates in six of eight analyzed metrics including pretax return on average assets (ROAA), net interest margin (NIM) and efficiency ratio. Security State Bank was also ranked as the Best Performing West Bank with under $10 billion in assets in 2023.