In this article, Pearl Meyer reviews the performance of publicly-traded U.S. banks with assets between $700 million and $2 billion during a seven-year period (2007-2013) to capture performance before, during, and post financial crises. Using a variety of annual metrics, 30 top performers were identified as “High Performing Banks” that—in addition to superior financial and portfolio quality metrics—also generated superior returns to shareholders.
Over that same seven-year period, those High Performing Banks were compared to the KBW Bank Index, and a group of 25 Western U.S. banks of similar size. Pearl Meyer also explores whether compensation program design and resulting management stability at these High Performing Banks differed from practices among the group of 25 Western Banks.
