Bank Director's RankingBanking Study Ranks Top-Performing U.S. Banks

Annual study ranks the 300 largest public banks.

NASHVILLE, Tenn., Aug. 25, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Bank Director, the leading information resource for directors and officers of financial institutions nationwide, released its 2026 RankingBanking study, sponsored by Crowe. The annual study ranks the 300 largest publicly traded banks using year-end 2025 data compiled by Piper Sandler & Co. from S&P Global Market Intelligence. Banks are scored on return on average total assets, return on average tangible common equity, tangible common equity to tangible assets and nonperforming assets to loans and other real estate owned. The scores are added together for a final rank, with lower scores indicating a better performance.

Despite years of upheaval – from post-crisis rules and consolidation to inflation and AI – Bank Director Executive Editor Jackie Stewart found that fundamentals still win. The top 25 posted a median net interest margin of 4.11%, versus 3.57% for the rest of the list, proving that core lending and deposit discipline drive success.

"I think the banks that connect the loan and deposit relationship together" are the ones that are most successful, Kara Baldwin, partner and financial services audit lead at Crowe LLP, says of top performers. "'We'll give you this great loan... but you need to bring the deposit relationship.'"

Patrick Vernon, an advisory partner at Crowe Advisory LLC, agrees deposit strength is key: "If you have strong, stable deposits, you'll have an easier time expanding your margin and profitability."

Below are the 25 Top-Ranked Banks Overall:

1. Commerce Bancshares (CBSH), Kansas City, MO
2. Bank7 Corp. (BSVN), Oklahoma City, OK
3. Esquire Financial Holdings (ESQ), Jericho, NY
4. Commercial Bancgroup (CBK), Harrogate, TN
5. Northeast Community Bancorp (NECB), White Plains, NY
6. Bank First Corp. (BFC), Manitowoc, WI
7. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp (FMCB), Lodi, CA - TIED
7. Thomasville Bancshares (THVB), Thomasville, GA - TIED
9. City Holding Co. (CHCO), Charleston, WV
10. Nicolet Bankshares (NIC), Green Bay, WI
11. HBT Financial (HBT), Bloomington, IL
12. West Coast Community Bancorp (WCCB), Santa Cruz, CA
13. Westamerica Bancorp. (WABC), San Rafael, CA
14. ACNB Corp. (ACNB), Gettysburg, PA
15. East West Bancorp (EWBC), Pasadena, CA
16. Ameris Bancorp (ABCB), Atlanta, GA
17. Stock Yards Bancorp (SYBT), Louisville, KY
18. Home BancShares (HOMB), Conway, AR
19. Central Bancompany (CBC), Jefferson City, MO
20. California BanCorp (BCAL), San Diego, CA
21. CVB Financial Corp. (CVBF), Ontario, CA
22. Community Trust Bancorp (CTBI), Pikeville, KY
23. Mission Bancorp (MSBC), Bakersfield, CA
24. Republic Bancorp (RBCA.A), Louisville, KY
25. Columbia Banking System (COLB), Tacoma, WA

To access the full ranking, along with the top-performing banks broken out by asset size and state, click here.

Takeaways from RankingBanking:

• The top 25 banks posted a median net interest margin of 4.11% for year-end 2025, compared with 3.57% for the remaining institutions on the list, highlighting the importance of core spread income.
• Banks in the South dominated, accounting for nine of the top 25 spots, while California institutions made up seven.
• California banks continued to lead the West, with seven of the region's eight top-25 representatives based in the Golden State; Columbia Banking System was the only Western bank outside California to be a top performer.
• New this year, Bank Director broke out all 300 institutions by state, available exclusively on BankDirector.com.
• Active acquirers featured prominently, including SouthState Bank Corp., which recently gained markets in Texas and Colorado through a deal.

To review the full results of Bank Director's RankingBanking study, along with previous RankingBanking reports, please visit BankDirector.com.

About Bank Director
Bank Director reaches the leaders of the institutions that comprise America's banking industry. Since 1991, Bank Director has provided board-level research, peer insights and in-depth executive and board services. Built for banks, Bank Director extends into and beyond the boardroom by providing timely and relevant information through Bank Director magazine, board training services and the financial industry's premier event, Acquire or Be Acquired. For more information, please visit www.BankDirector.com.

About Crowe LLP
Crowe has more than 50 years' experience serving financial services companies. Their industry-focused team of more than 2,300 banking specialists works with more than 2,900 financial services companies of all sizes.

Crowe operates in an alternative practice structure and provides professional services through two separate entities: Crowe LLP delivers audit and attest services, and Crowe Advisory LLC provides tax, advisory, consulting, and other nonattest services.

The Crowe Global network consists of more than 300 independent accounting and advisory services firms in more than 150 countries around the globe, making it one of the largest accounting networks in the world (as of July 2026). As independent members of Crowe Global, Crowe LLP and Crowe Advisory LLC serve clients worldwide. www.crowe.com/fs 

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For more information, please contact Bank Director's Marketing Associate, Emma McMillan-Zapf at [email protected].

SOURCE Bank Director