Premier Ranked on S&P Global’s List of Best-Performing Banks
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Premier Financial Corp. has been named to S&P Global Market Intelligence’s annual list of best-performing community banks.
The parent company of Premier Bank ranked No. 18 on the list of banks with assets between $3 billion and $10 billion.
“We are proud that Premier was able to successfully navigate the pandemic and our merger of equals with strong financial performance, a focus on our customers and serving our markets as one of the leading SBA loan providers in 2020,” said President and CEO Gary Small in a statement. “The hard work and dedication exhibited by the Premier team helped us gain positive momentum in balance sheet growth, efficiency, credit quality and strategic performance. It’s an honor to be recognized as one of the top 20 best-performing community banks, and it illustrates our ongoing commitment to top-tier performance.”
The ranking is based on weighted metrics: pretax return on common equity, efficiency ratio, net interest margin, operating revenue growth, leverage ratio, the percentage of total assets and loans that are more than 90 days past due, and net of Paycheck Protection Program loans.
At the end of 2020, Premier had assets of $6.92 billion, excluding PPP loans. Its efficiency ratio was 55.86% and its net interest margin was3.42%. Operating revenue growth was 81.4% and leverage ratio was 9.76%.
“Despite going through a challenging year filled with economic uncertainty, we have seen community banks and credit unions play a significant role in their regional markets, providing support and essential services needed in their local communities,” said S&P senior director of financial institutions Jimmy Pittenger in a statement. “I’m thrilled to see these community banks and credit unions thrive in a challenging time and proud to recognize these top performing local financial institutions in our annual rankings.”
Only one other Ohio bank – Cincinnati’s Union Savings Bank – was included in the ranking, coming it at No. 2. Atop the list was United National Corp. in Sioux Falls. S.D.
Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
