U.S. Bancorp Named as the Number One Performing Large-Bank by Bank Director Magazine

U.S. Bancorp was recently named as the top performing large-bank in the country, according to Bank Director‘s 2005 Bank Performance Scorecard. The ranking was “…based on publicly available data over four linked quarters – the third and fourth quarters of 2004 and the first and second quarters of 2005.” Banks making the “top large-bank” performance ranking had to have more than $50 billion in total assets.

Bank Director magazine used six categories to measure the performance of 150 banks (23 of which qualified as “large-banks”) in the United States, including — return on average assets, return on average equity, tier-1 capital ratio, leverage ratio, nonperforming asset ratio and reserve coverage. The Bank Performance Scorecard noted that it takes “high profitability, a strong balance sheet and outstanding asset quality” to become a high performance bank.

Bank Director‘s fourth quarter 2005 edition also included a feature article on U.S. Bancorp and its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Jerry Grundhofer. The article by John R. Engen, entitled Many Happy Returns noted that “…Grundhofer refocused the bank on organic growth and productivity—and its performance has soared.” The article chronicles Grundhofer’s and the organization’s success, which the author sums up in two words: “fees and efficiencies.” When comparing U.S. Bancorp to the other banks that made the large-bank Scorecard it was noted “no other large bank really comes close to those (U.S. Bancorp’s) return numbers.”

The magazine pointed out U.S. Bancorp’s board of directors contribution to the success of the company, noting, “The 12-member group boasts eight sitting CEOs, including those from such large companies as Anheuser-Busch Cos., Cargill, and Medtronic. Management runs the company, of course, but directors conduct annual strategy reviews and are ‘continuously asking questions…and keeping a critical eye on our operations,’ Grunhofer says. They’re also ‘excellent stewards of capital,’ he adds.”

According to the large-bank scorecard, U.S. Bancorp was ranked number one in two of the six categories listed previously with a return on average assets of 2.22 percent and return on average equity of 22.61 percent.