2024 Lending Landscape for Banks
In 2024, the lending environment was pretty intense, yet banks managed to pull in stronger loan growth compared to their peers. It’s interesting how that turned out.
A bank that saw significant borrowing last year is now positioned among the top performers for 2025, boasting assets between $10 billion and $50 billion. Consulting firm Capital Performance Group evaluated these banks based on their average return on equity (ROAE) over the last three years, all derived from year-end data.
Claude Hanley, a founder and partner at Capital Performance Group, shared with American Bankers that traditional lending growth is expected to be a key driver for revenue increases at the top 10 banks, even as median net profits for those in the $10-$50 billion sector have experienced a decline.
Despite less robust profitability metrics for banks in 2023, the top-performing banks still enjoyed a median return of around 15.32% on their average stock. This is interesting, but it does reflect a broader trend of profitability reduction across the board.
“Both top performers and other banks in this tier have seen profit margins drop,” Hanley noted. “The standout point here is that these high-performing banks still managed to turn a profit. So, what’s the secret? The answer lies in loan growth.”
When we take a closer look, the median loan growth for these top banks hit 5.67%, a stark contrast to the 2.63% seen at 83 banks within that asset group. Moreover, the leading banks reported a median revenue growth of 3.15%, while their peers only managed 0.71%.
It’s worth mentioning that maintaining lower funding costs played a role in this outperformance, alongside the smaller banks. However, banks with over $10 billion in assets didn’t see their core deposits grow as much as the smaller institutions did.
Interestingly, within the $10 billion to $50 billion category, size didn’t play a significant role in financial success—the median size for top banks in this tier was just above $18 billion.
Capital Performance Group’s report draws on data from S&P Global Market Intelligence, relying on filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and other regulatory bodies. For 2024, the performance metrics highlight the top ten banks whose assets range from $1 billion to $50 billion. For a deeper breakdown of the rankings, you can check the table below.
