Monitor’s Top Bank 50 continued down the path of solid growth in 2018, amassing $277.9 billion in net assets, up $14.4 billion (5.5%) year over year. As for volume, after a remarkable rebound of nearly 7% annual growth in 2017, the Bank 50 reported more modest gains in 2018. With a 2.2%, or $2.1 billion, year-over-year increase, the banks amassed a collective $94.3 billion in 2018 originations.
Banc of America Leasing once again dominated the asset ranking, reporting $53.1 billion in net assets in 2018, up $1.5 billion (2.8%) from its 2017 total. Wells Fargo Equipment Finance maintained its No. 2 position, but experienced a 1.9% decline, finishing $908 million lower than 2017. However, Wells Fargo siezed the top spot in volume, with its 7.1% growth rate crushing Banc of America’s all but flat 0.7% increase. Several top players experienced some reshuffling, as PNC Equipment Finance and CIT Group traded their positions from last year, with PNC regaining the No. 3 position after three years with a reported $16.2 billion in assets.
U.S. Bank Overview
According to data from the FDIC Quarterly Banking Profile for Q4/18, net income from full-year 2018 totaled $236.7 billion, up $71.9 billion or 43.6% from full-year 2017. The FDIC attributed this increase to higher net operating revenue and lower income tax expenses resulting from tax reform in 2017.
Banks’ net operating revenue rose by 7%, or $53.1 billion; net interest income increased by 8.1%, or $10.5 billion, and noninterest income was up 2.6%, or $1.6 billion. The average net interest margin (NIM) rose from 3.25% in 2017 to 3.40% in 2018.
Loan and lease balances increased by 6.5% on a year-over-year basis, bringing the 2018 total to $1.6 trillion. Commercial and industrial (C&I) loans grew by $16.9 billion (8.3%).
Top Bank 50 — Rankings
Monitor’s Bank 50 once again broke its previous record with combined net assets of $277.9 million. Forty-one banks reported a year-over-year increases of $17.3 billion, while nine banks posted net declines of $2.9 billion. BB&T Equipment Finance posted the largest dollar gain of $2.1 billion, helping it jump eight slots to the No. 10 position. Meanwhile, despite its success on the volume charts, Wells Fargo experienced the largest dollar decrease, with net assets down $908 million year over year.
The Top Five
Banc of America kept its healthy lead with $53.1 billion in net assets, up 2.8% year over year. With 2.3% growth in 2017, BofA continues a consistent upward trajectory. At No. 2, Wells Fargo’s net assets were once again down from the previous year, this time by 1.9%. Despite this modest drop, Wells ended the year with $48.2 billion in net assets. PNC reclaimed the No. 3 position with a gain of $833 million, or 5.4%, year over year. CIT Group, meanwhile, slipped slightly to the No. 4 slot, with reported 2018 assets of $15.4 billion, down $225 million (1.4%) from the previous year. Like PNC, BMO Financial Group also regained a higher rank it commanded in the past, rejoining the top five and finishing 2018 with $12.7 billion in net assets, an increase of 15.7%. This allowed it to leapfrog over Key Equipment Finance and U.S. Bank Equipment Finance, which slipped to No. 6 and No. 7, respectively.
