March 14, 2022 – First Bank & Trust, a division of HTLF Bank, through its parent company, Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ: HTLF), has been named a “Forbes Best Bank 2022.”
In its annual review of the largest publicly traded banks and thrifts, Forbes ranked Heartland 28th among a nationwide group of 100 leading banking organizations with assets ranging from $9 billion to over $2 trillion.
“We are proud to be named among the best banks in America for 2022,” said Tyson Leyendecker, President and CEO of Dubuque Bank and Trust. “As community banks, what sets us apart is our strong commitment to our customers, combined with access to ‘big-bank’ products and services as part of Heartland.”
“The Forbes ranking underscores the benefits of our unique structure—the strength and capabilities of a big bank, combined with the personal touch and local decision-making of a community bank,” Leyendecker said. Dubuque Bank & Trust offers full-service branches where experts can meet all financial needs throughout the community.
“We are proud to be named among the Best Banks in America for 2022,” said Jeff Hultman, CEO at Illinois Bank & Trust. “As a community bank, what sets us apart is our strong commitment to our customers, combined with access to ‘big-bank’ products and services as part of Heartland.”
“The Forbes ranking underscores the benefits of our unique structure—the strength and capabilities of a big bank, combined with the personal touch and local decision-making of a community bank,” Hultman said. Illinois Bank & Trust offers full-service branches where experts can meet all financial needs throughout the community.
“We are proud to be named among the Best Banks in America for 2022,” said Doug Kohlbeck, President and CEO at Wisconsin Bank & Trust. “As a community bank, what sets us apart is our strong commitment to our customers, combined with access to ‘big-bank’ products and services as part of Heartland.”
“The Forbes ranking underscores the benefits of our unique structure—the strength and capabilities of a big bank, combined with the personal touch and local decision-making of a community bank,” Kohlbeck said. Wisconsin Bank & Trust offers full-service branches where experts can meet all financial needs throughout the community.
“We are proud to be named among the Best Banks in America for 2022,” said Greg Leyendecker, President and CEO at New Mexico Bank & Trust. “As a community bank, what sets us apart is our strong commitment to our customers, combined with access to ‘big-bank’ products and services as part of Heartland.”
“The Forbes ranking underscores the benefits of our unique structure—the strength and capabilities of a big bank, combined with the personal touch and local decision-making of a community bank,” Leyendecker said. New Mexico Bank & Trust offers full-service branches where experts can meet all financial needs throughout the community.
“We are proud to be named among the Best Banks in America for 2022,” said Bill Callahan, President and CEO at Arizona Bank & Trust. “What sets us apart is our strong commitment to our local customers, combined with access to ‘big-bank’ products and services as part of Heartland.”
“The Forbes ranking underscores the benefits of our unique structure—the strength and capabilities of a big bank, combined with the personal touch and local decision-making of a community bank,” Callahan said. Arizona Bank & Trust offers full-service branches where experts can meet all financial needs throughout the community.
“We are proud to be named among the Best Banks in America for 2022,” said Tod Petersen, President and CEO at Rocky Mountain Bank. “As a community bank, what sets us apart is our strong commitment to our customers, combined with access to ‘big-bank’ products and services as part of Heartland.”
“The Forbes ranking underscores the benefits of our unique structure—the strength and capabilities of a big bank, combined with the personal touch and local decision-making of a community bank,” Petersen said. Rocky Mountain Bank offers full-service branches where experts can meet all financial needs throughout the community.
“We are proud to be named among the Best Banks in America for 2022,” said Michael Wamsganz, President and CEO at Citywide Banks. “As a community bank, what sets us apart is our strong commitment to our customers, combined with access to ‘big-bank’ products and services as part of Heartland.”
“The Forbes ranking underscores the benefits of our unique structure—the strength and capabilities of a big bank, combined with the personal touch and local decision-making of a community bank,” Wamsganz said. Citywide Banks offers full-service branches where experts can meet all financial needs throughout the community.
“We are proud to be named among the Best Banks in America for 2022,” said Stephen Bishop, President and CEO at Minnesota Bank & Trust. “As a community bank, what sets us apart is our strong commitment to our customers, combined with access to ‘big-bank’ products and services as part of Heartland.”
“The Forbes ranking underscores the benefits of our unique structure—the strength and capabilities of a big bank, combined with the personal touch and local decision-making of a community bank,” Bishop said.
“We are proud to be named among the Best Banks in America for 2022,” said Brent Giles, President and CEO of Bank of Blue Valley. “As a community bank, what sets us apart is our strong commitment to our customers, combined with access to ‘big-bank’ products and services as part of Heartland.”
“The Forbes ranking underscores the benefits of our unique structure—the strength and capabilities of a big bank, combined with the personal touch and local decision-making of a community bank,” Giles said. Bank of Blue Valley offers full-service branches where experts can meet all financial needs throughout the community.
“We are proud to be named among the Best Banks in America for 2022,” said Lo Nestman, President and CEO at Premier Valley Bank. “As a community bank, what sets us apart is our strong commitment to our customers, combined with access to ‘big-bank’ products and services as part of Heartland.”
“The Forbes ranking underscores the benefits of our unique structure—the strength and capabilities of a big bank, combined with the personal touch and local decision-making of a community bank,” Nestman said. Premier Valley Bank offers full-service branches where experts can meet all financial needs throughout the community.
“We are proud to be named among the Best Banks in America for 2022,” said Greg Garland, President and CEO at First Bank & Trust. “As a community bank, what sets us apart is our strong commitment to our customers, combined with access to ‘big-bank’ products and services as part of Heartland.”
“The Forbes ranking underscores the benefits of our unique structure—the strength and capabilities of a big bank, combined with the personal touch and local decision-making of a community bank,” Garland said. First Bank & Trust offers full-service branches where experts can meet all financial needs throughout the community.
To compile the rankings, Forbes used data collected by SNL Financial through the third quarter of 2020 on the country’s largest publicly traded banks and thrifts. The data covered 10 metrics of financial health: return on average equity; net interest margin; nonperforming loans (NPLs) as a percentage of loans; nonperforming assets as percentage of assets; reserves as a percentage of NPLs; two capital ratios (Tier 1 and risk-based); and leverage ratio. Forbes generated its ranking based on an average of the individual ranks of each metric.