America’s Best Regional Banks and Credit Unions 2025

Regional banks and credit unions are the financial backbone of communities nationwide. They serve as vital engines at the local level as they support small businesses, fund projects and ensure easy access to essential banking services. With intimate knowledge of local economies, these banks often form strong bonds with customers, enabling them to better meet their needs.

Credit unions are operated as member-owned cooperatives, driven by a mission of service rather than profit. This approach often translates to lower fees, competitive loan rates and a genuine focus on member satisfaction. Credit unions serve as more than just financial institutions—they are partners in their neighborhoods, actively participating in local events and initiatives that strengthen bonds among members.

To honor the banks and credit unions positively impacting their communities, Newsweek and Plant-A Insights Group are proud to present America's Best Regional Banks and Credit Unions 2025.

Our methodology utilized the Texas Ratio (a measure of a bank's credit quality) as well as reviewed profitability and net loans and leases, press coverage over the past two years, an elaborate large-scale independent customer survey of more than 71,000 U.S. citizens, 1.9 million social media reviews and 129 million Apple App store and Google Play store reviews. We then determined the top 500 regional banks and top 500 credit unions.

Companies honored in this ranking include AAA Credit Union in South Bend, Indiana; Dairy State Bank in Rice Lake, Wisconsin; and TriState Capital Bank in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

We hope this ranking helps you identify the most trusted financial institutions in your area for whatever personal and business projects you have planned.

LICENSING

Are you on the list? Claim your award and learn how to use it.

LICENSING

Are you on the list? Claim your award and learn how to use it.

METHODOLOGY
For the second time, Plant-A Insights Group and Newsweek collaborated to identify America's Best Regional Banks and Credit Unions 2025. This study examined all regional banks and credit unions across the U.S. (about 9,170 institutions) using the following approach:

To maintain a focus on regional banks and credit unions, we excluded nationwide banks.

We applied a unique set of criteria to evaluate the remaining institutions. These parameters covered areas such as profitability, financial relevance, risk exposure to financial uncertainties, and the general health and stability of each financial institution:

• Texas Ratio
• Profitability
• Net Loans and Leases
• Media Monitoring

The analysis was further supported by an extensive large-scale independent customer survey of over 71,000 U.S. residents. This survey aimed to capture their experiences across 12 categories using 52 items. Over 845,000 reviews of regional banks and credit unions were collected, spanning all states.

In addition, more than 1.9 million social media reviews and 129 million app store reviews from Apple and Google Play were programmatically gathered to assist with the scoring.

Only banks and credit unions that ranked in the top 50th percentile of scorers within their respective HQ states were included in the list of ranked institution

Disclaimer
Rankings Placement
Placement in the Rankings (defined below) is a positive recognition based on research of publicly available data sources from the time period in question. Newsweek and Plant-A Insights make no claim to the completeness of the firms examined.

Intellectual Property Rights
All content within the rankings ("Rankings") is the exclusive property of Plant-A Insights Group LLC ("Plant-A"). This work, including all data, analyses, and derived rankings, is copyrighted under United States and international copyright laws. Unauthorized use, including but not limited to the publication, reproduction, modification, distribution, transmission, or display of any material without the prior written consent of Plant-A, is strictly prohibited.

Nature of the Rankings
The Rankings are prepared by Plant-A and reflect an editorial content piece, based on both primary and secondary market research. This includes publicly available data and specific data provided directly to Plant-A. These Rankings are published in conjunction with Newsweek and should be viewed as an editorial work, not as definitive financial or business guidance. The ranking only includes firms that qualify according to the criteria described in this document.

Data Accuracy and Periodicity
The Rankings are generated from Financial & Regulatory Data of banks reported by FDIC and Call Reports of Credit Unions reported by NCUA Investment Adviser Information Reports data sourced from SEC for the month of September 2nd Quarter 2024. They are inherently a reflection of historical data and may not include subsequent developments, unforeseen events, or additional data not covered during the research period. The results of this ranking should not be used as sole source of information for future deliberation. The information provides through this list should rather be considered in conjunction with other available information about the financial advisory firm. The quality of banks and credit unions firms that are not included in the ranking is not disputed.

No Endorsement or Quality Assurance
Plant-A does not endorse nor validate the business practices or the standing of the ranked companies. The inclusion or exclusion of any company in the Rankings should not be used as a basis for Financial, business, or other decisions. All decisions based on any information presented in the Rankings should be made in conjunction with other available information and independent advice.

Disclaimer of Liability
Plant-A, its subsidiaries, and their respective officers, directors, employees, and agents (collectively, the "Plant-A Parties") disclaim all liability and responsibility for any errors or omissions in the Rankings or for any actions taken based on the contents of this publication. Neither Plant-A nor Newsweek guarantees the completeness or accuracy of the information contained in the Rankings.

By accessing, using, or relying upon the Rankings, you waive all claims and have no recourse against Plant-A Parties for any alleged or actual infringements of any rights of any party, including privacy rights, proprietary rights, intellectual property rights, rights of publicity, rights of credit for material or ideas, or any other rights, including the right to approval of uses such as copy that may be deemed to be distorted, derogatory, or offensive.

This disclaimer is intended to be as broad and inclusive as permitted under the law. If any portion hereof is held invalid or unenforceable, the remainder of the disclaimer shall nonetheless remain in full force and effect. This disclaimer constitutes the entire agreement between you and Plant-A regarding the use of the Rankings.

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