America’s Best Banks

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ith the Federal Reserve steadfastly hiking interest rates into an already slowing economy, America’s banks were forced to navigate unusual economic conditions last year. The good news? Rising interest rates were a godsend in a vacuum, as net interest income among FDIC-insured banks rose 16.5% to $456 billion in the first three quarters of the year.

That wasn’t enough to offset higher loan loss provisions on balance sheets, declines in total deposits as the pandemic stimulus spout ran dry and a crash in capital markets revenues. Total net income for banks fell 6% to $260 billion in the 12 months through September 30, according to FDIC data.

Forbes’ 14th annual America’s Best Banks list looks at growth, credit quality and profitability to rank the 100 largest (by assets) publicly-traded banks and thrifts from best to worst. Smaller regional and community banks which get most of their revenue from interest dominate the top half of the list, while multinational banks that generate more income from underwriting and advisory fees were hit the hardest by the economic slowdown. All four trillion-dollar banks lag in the bottom third of the list, including $1.9 trillion-in-assets Wells Fargo in last place.

While S&P Global Market Intelligence provides the data, the rankings below are done separately by Forbes.