In American Banker's ranking of banks with the strongest metrics, here is this year's list, based on 2025 data from Capital Performance Group.

The Denver-based bank reported that two loans soured, one due to fraud. A number of other lenders reported sizable fraud-related losses last fall.

As the deadline for President Donald Trump to sign or veto a housing package looms, hanging in the balance is a reciprocal deposit provision that would give small banks more room to compete for large corporate and municipal depositors.

The move is designed to align the two Utah-based businesses under a single unique name and comes two years after the bank acquired the home lender in 2024.

The Louisiana-based lender's acquisition of American Planning Corp. expands the list of advisory services it offers to other community banks.

Two investors are in open revolt over what they see as inaction and underperformance at United Bancorporation of Alabama. Among their demands: more stock buybacks, lower expenses and new faces on the board of directors.

A $160 million deal to merge Hometown Financial Group subsidiaries and Primary Bank will lead to consolidation under a single brand name of TruNorth.

Oklahoma's Bank7 may acquire New Mexico's Century Bank by the end of the year. The reason: A wealthy Century shareholder is being forced to sell his shares to satisfy a $40 million debt.

Organizers of Bank of St. George were close to the finish line in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic arrived. Now CEO Bruce Jensen says the planned bank should open its doors by the end of the year.

The need to scale quickly is adding new challenges to the build vs. buy debate

The Independent Community Bankers of America is lobbying Congress to require federal credit unions to disclose CEO pay, as most other nonprofit organizations must do. The calls follow the discovery of a massive embezzlement scheme led by the CEO of a Mississippi credit union.

National banks are committing billions of dollars to fund the construction. But there's room for smaller institutions and credit unions.

The Connecticut-based bank announced its release from a formal agreement with regulators. It is pushing to expand in wealthy areas such as Beverly Hills, California, and Palm Beach, Florida.

Groups representing community banks and credit unions argue that the Department of Agriculture used a faulty process when it removed 10 lenders from its OneRD loan guarantee program

Five Star Bank near Sacramento plans to expand in Lodi, an agricultural hub in the Golden State's Central Valley region. The lender's growth push comes as the number of farm banks has been shrinking.

Colony Bankcorp has reached a $163 million deal to acquire Florence, South Carolina-based First Reliance Bancshares.

President Donald Trump said he wouldn't sign the housing bill, which includes several riders aimed at helping community banks, until Congress passes the SAVE Act.

After encountering a rough patch in 2023, seller 1895 Bancorp in Greenfield, Wisconsin, hired an investment bank to consider strategic opportunities.

The child of a slave grew up to become the first woman to open a bank in the U.S., and pioneered community banking for Black communities.

At least nine Dallas-area institutions have agreed to sell themselves since late 2024, with the Oklahoma City-based MidFirst Bank's deal for Dallas Capital marking the latest transaction.