There wasn't just one recipe for landing among the top-performing banks with $50 billion or more in assets. There were two — or, in some cases, a mix of both.
The top 10 banks fell into two camps: those with a strong focus on wealth management and those built around more traditional retail and commercial banking.
"There are just two primary operating models of these banks of that size," said Ally Akins, principal and marketing practice co-leader at consulting firm Capital Performance Group, which ranked the banks based on their three-year average return on average equity, or ROAE, using data from year-end 2025. "It's spread-based traditional banking or fee-based wealth management, and there's a wide range in the fee income as a percent of assets of these institutions because of that. And then you have J.P. Morgan that kind of does both."
Like their smaller-bank counterparts, the largest banks had a strong year.
The top 10 banks posted an average net interest margin, or NIM, of 2.89%, a key measure of how much banks earn from their core lending business after paying the cost of funding it. The figure suggests the banks were able to maintain healthy spreads between what they earned on loans and investments and what they paid to attract deposits and other funding. Core deposits grew an average of 6.42%, while net loans grew 7.18%. Noninterest expenses averaged 7.50%
Matthew Prince, a business analyst at Capital Performance Group, said 2025 "was a really good year for banks on spread."
"Short-term rates were lower and long-term rates were higher, so generally the whole industry did better," he said.
Prince added that 2025 was also a favorable year for mergers and acquisitions, which helped boost noninterest income at banks such as JPMorganChase and Morgan Stanley.
"I guess the regulatory environment right now, it's more conducive to mergers and acquisitions, which helps bring in noninterest income through M&A, and that's been elevated recently," he said.
Capital Performance Group compiled its report using data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence, based on filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and other regulators. Here are performance metrics from 2025 for the 10 top-performing banks with more than $50 billion in assets.
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First Citizens Bank once again took the top spot in the 2025 rankings of top-performing banks with more than $50 billion in assets.
The Raleigh, North Carolina-based bank reported a net interest margin of 3.25%, notably above the average for the top 10 institutions. Core deposits increased 5.90%, while net loans grew 6.16%, both slightly below the cohort average. The $229.7 billion-asset bank kept noninterest expense growth to 7.38%, below the cohort average.
First Citizens also reported a strong year for its wealth business, with assets under management growing at a double-digit rate to $61 billion at the end of 2025, according to its annual report.
The bank said it had substantially completed integration efforts related to its acquisition of the failed Silicon Valley Bank. It also acquired 138 branches from BMO Bank, expanding its presence into new markets.
"We made significant progress on balance sheet optimization in 2025, moving our capital ratios closer to our long-term targets and increasing core deposits to support loan growth and long-term funding optimization," CEO Frank Holding said in a letter to shareholders. "In 2026, we expect to continue our focus on growing deposits to support funding needs and optimizing capital to our target range through share repurchases."
Raymond James Financial, a St. Petersburg, Florida-based financial services firm, held on to second place in the rankings.
The $88.8 billion-asset firm provides investment advice, wealth management, investment banking, asset management, brokerage and banking services to individuals, businesses and institutional clients.
Raymond James reported a net interest margin of 3.39%, above the industry average. Core deposits grew 8.75%, while net loans increased 13.31%, one of the highest growth rates among the top 10. Noninterest expenses increased 9.18%, placing the firm toward the higher end of the cohort.
East West Bank remained in third place in the 2025 rankings of top-performing banks with more than $50 billion in assets.
The $80.4 billion-asset bank reported a net interest margin of 3.42%, one of the highest in the cohort. Net loan growth was 5.78%, while core deposits grew 4.97%. Noninterest expenses increased 11.16%.
In its annual report, the Pasadena, California-based bank said its ability to remain nimble has been a key to its ongoing success.
"East West Bank's ability to remain nimble, disciplined and responsive allows us to manage risk thoughtfully, maximize efficiency, allocate capital prudently, and consistently deliver superior service," CEO Dominic Ng wrote in the annual report.
East West Bank offers a range of lending products and services, along with commercial, personal and wealth management services. The bank also has a strong U.S.-Asia cross-border banking business, serving customers and businesses with financial ties between the two regions.
JPMorganChase, a $4.42 trillion-asset company, moved up one spot to fourth place in the 2025 rankings of top-performing banks with more than $50 billion in assets.
The New York-based bank reported a net interest margin of 2.50%, toward the lower end of the cohort, while expenses increased 7.96%. Net loan growth reached 10.88%, while core deposits grew 5.65%.
In the company's annual report, JPMorganChase CEO Jamie Dimon said the bank had generated record revenue for eight consecutive years, with each of its business lines also setting records.
"We earned revenue in 2025 of $185.6 billion and net income of $57.0 billion, with return on tangible common equity (ROTCE) of 20%, reflecting a strong underlying performance across all of our businesses," Dimon wrote to shareholders.
Dimon also emphasized the bank's role in supporting economic activity around the world.
"In total, we extended credit and raised capital amounting to $3.3 trillion for our consumer and institutional clients around the world," he said. "On a daily basis, we move nearly $12 trillion in 120-plus currencies and more than 160 countries, as well as safeguard over $41 trillion in assets."
Cullen/Frost Bankers, the parent company of Frost Bank, fell one spot to fifth place in the 2025 rankings.
The San Antonio-based company reported a net interest margin of 3.76%, the highest among the top 10 banks. The $53 billion-asset bank saw core deposits grow 0.54%, while loans grew 5.50%.
Frost reported $642 million in earnings for the year, an 11.5% increase from the previous year. CEO Phillip Green called the results an "all-time high" in the company's annual report.
"That achievement is even more impressive in my mind when you consider that the Federal Reserve's target interest rate dropped 0.75% during the year," Green said. "Falling rates normally put downward pressure on our earnings, but we were able to offset that effect through growth in our loans and deposits, along with reinvesting lower-yielding assets maturing during the year at higher rates."
Green also highlighted the bank's ability to attract new customers and maintain strong credit quality.
"Forty percent of the loans we've funded are for people new to Frost, and credit quality is excellent with an average credit score of 775," he said.
Frost is heavily concentrated in Texas and offers personal and commercial loans, as well as equipment financing. The bank also provides international banking services to customers in Mexico and businesses that operate between the United States and Mexico.
Northern Trust, a Chicago-based financial services firm, jumped to sixth place in the rankings.
The $177 billion-asset company saw core deposits grow 8.27%, while loans declined 3.34%. Its net interest margin was 1.72%, while expenses increased 6.22%, one of the lowest rates in the cohort.
Northern Trust also saw strong growth in client assets. Assets under management climbed 12% from 2024 to $1.8 trillion, while assets under custody and administration rose 11% to $18.7 trillion by year-end, CEO Mike O'Grady said in the company's annual report.
Despite the growth in client assets, reported revenue declined 2% to $8.1 billion. O'Grady attributed the decline largely to notable items, saying revenue increased 7% when those items were excluded. Trust fees grew 6%, while net interest income reached a record $2.4 billion, up 10%.
"We generated positive trust fee and total operating leverage, excluding notable items, underscoring our controlled financial management and focus on value creation," O'Grady said.
Northern Trust provides wealth management, asset management, asset servicing, custody and banking services to wealthy individuals, corporations and large institutional investors. The bank was ranked
Zions Bank, an $88.7 billion-asset firm, rose to seventh place in the rankings.
The Salt Lake City-based bank reported a net interest margin of 3.21%. Core deposits grew 1.25%, while loans increased 2.78%. Noninterest expenses grew 5.45%.
Zions CEO Harris Simmons said average loans and leases increased 3.2% to $60.4 billion, while average deposits were essentially flat, growing 0.2% to $74.9 billion. Despite the slower balance-sheet growth, taxable-equivalent net interest income increased 8% to $2.7 billion as the bank's net interest margin improved.
Simmons attributed the improvement to disciplined deposit pricing and stronger loan spreads.
"We also had strong growth in retail and business banking fees, which increased 11.9%," Simmons said in the firm's annual report. "Noninterest operating expenses of $2.1 billion increased 4.5%."
Western Alliance Bank, a $92.77 billion-asset firm, fell two spots to eighth place in the rankings despite posting some of the strongest growth metrics among the banks surveyed.
The Phoenix-based bank had the strongest net interest margin among the cohort at 3.51%, compared with an average of 2.89%. Core deposits grew 20.42%, more than three times the cohort average, while net loans increased 11.02%. However, its return on average equity trailed the banks ranked above it, weighing on its overall position.
Vishal Idnani, chief financial officer at Western Alliance, said the firm saw 9% growth in held-for-investment loans across its regional banking and commercial and industrial businesses in 2025, while deposits increased 16%.
"This growth was driven by a notable acceleration in regional banking deposits across both in-market commercial banking and innovation banking, along with approximately 40% growth in our specialty escrow businesses," Idnani said in the firm's annual report.
Idnani added that noninterest income rose 25%, while revenue growth outpaced noninterest expense growth by four times.
Morgan Stanley, a $1.4 trillion-asset firm, made a notable jump to ninth place in the rankings.
The New York-based investment firm reported the lowest net interest margin in the cohort at 1.04%, but its profitability remained strong, with one of the highest net income figures among the top 10. Its 68.4% efficiency ratio was also higher than the cohort average.
Net loan growth reached 17.11%, the highest among the cohort, while core deposits grew 5.15%.
Morgan Stanley CEO Ted Pick described 2025 as an outstanding year for the firm, which reported record annual net revenue of $70.6 billion and net income of $16.9 billion. Pick also pointed to the firm's client asset growth, which accelerated by $1.4 trillion during the year to reach $9.3 trillion at year-end.
"An efficiency ratio of 68.4% demonstrated the operating leverage of our platform and the benefits of investments in technology and infrastructure," Pick said in the firm's annual report.
Fifth Third Bank, headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, moved up one spot to round out the top 10 performing banks with $50 billion or more in assets.
The $214 billion-asset bank reported a net interest margin of 3.11%, above the cohort average. Its 56.56% efficiency ratio came in slightly below the group average, while noninterest expense growth of 3.48% was the lowest among the cohort.
Net loan growth was 2.58%, while core deposits grew 3.34%, both slightly below the group average.
Fifth Third CEO Tim Spence said the bank delivered a consistent year of strong profitability, with total deposits growing 1%, supported by a 4% increase in noninterest-bearing deposits.
"Net interest income grew 6% year over year, driven by loan growth and 21 basis points of margin expansion. Noninterest income increased by 7%, led by continued strength in our wealth and asset management and commercial payments businesses," Spence said in the firm's annual report.
"We continued to invest strategically in the Southeast and in tech-led product capabilities," he added.
