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Methodology

Data Sources

FDIC BankFind

  • What: Financial data for all FDIC-insured banks
  • Metrics: Total assets, deposits, net income, ROA, ROE, branch count, charter type, holding company
  • Update frequency: Quarterly (aligned with FDIC Call Report schedule)
  • API: api.fdic.gov/banks (free, no authentication required)

CFPB Consumer Complaint Database

  • What: Consumer complaints filed against financial companies
  • Metrics: Total complaints, timely response rate, top issue categories
  • Update frequency: Daily (CFPB updates the database continuously)
  • API: consumerfinance.gov (free, no authentication required)

NCUA Credit Union Data

  • What: Financial data for federally insured credit unions
  • Metrics: Total assets, shares (deposits), loans, membership, net income, ROA, branch count
  • Update frequency: Quarterly (aligned with NCUA Call Report schedule)
  • Source: ncua.gov quarterly call report data (free, no authentication required)

FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data)

  • What: Economic indicators and interest rates
  • Metrics: Federal Funds Rate, 10-Year Treasury Yield, National Savings Rate
  • Update frequency: Daily for market rates, monthly for some series
  • API: api.stlouisfed.org (free, API key required)

Default Ranking: Total Assets

By default, banks on BankRanked are ranked by total assets (largest first). This is the most common and neutral ranking criterion used in banking. We chose this default because:

  • Total assets is an objective, audited figure reported to the FDIC
  • It provides a clear size comparison without subjective judgment
  • It is not influenced by affiliate relationships

Users can use individual bank profiles to compare other metrics like ROA, ROE, and complaint data to make their own assessments.

Complaint Data Context

CFPB complaint volumes generally correlate with bank size. A bank with 100 million customers will typically have more complaints than a community bank. We present complaint data for transparency, but it should be evaluated in context of the institution's size.

Limitations

  • FDIC data has a quarterly lag (data may be 1-3 months old)
  • CFPB complaints represent a subset of all customer experiences
  • We currently show the top 500 banks and 200 credit unions by assets (not all FDIC/NCUA-insured institutions)