Three St. Louis financial institutions are ranked among the 200 healthiest banks and credit unions in America by DepositAccounts, which tracks all federally insured banks and credit unions.
TIAA Direct, the banking arm of TIAA-CREF Trust Co., ranked 19th, and Sterling Bank ranked 140th among U.S. banks. Neighbors Credit Union ranked 195th among credit unions. The rankings were based on Texas ratio, deposit growth and capitalization.
TIAA-CREF, which now goes by simply TIAA, is an acronym for Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association – College Retirement Equities Fund. TIAA-CREF Trust Co. was established in 1998 as an entrée into the retail banking business. TIAA Direct manages its customers’ accounts online and has no physical branches. As of March 31, it had a Texas ratio of 0.37 percent, 55.4 percent growth in deposits for the year to $953 million, and $3.7 billion in assets with $505.21 million in equity, for a capitalization level of 13.8 percent, DepositAccounts reported. Any bank with a Texas ratio greater than 100 percent is considered at risk.
Sterling is the 24th largest bank in Missouri and the 634th largest in the nation. It was established in 2004 and as of March 2016, had 136 employees at 11 locations. As of March 31, it had a Texas ratio of 2.85 percent, 85.6 percent growth in deposits to $435 million, and $1.1 billion in assets with $137.3 million in equity, for a capitalization level of 12 percent, according to DepositAccounts. SNL Financial ranks Sterling 17th in the nation and first in Missouri among best performing banks in the U.S. with assets in the $500 million to $5 billion range. Earlier this year, Sterling acquired First Community Bank and parent company Bootheel Bancorp.
Neighbors is the fourth largest credit union in Missouri and the 691st largest in the nation. It was established in 1928 and as of March 2016 had 124 employees and 45,301 members at eight locations. It had a Texas ratio of 2.95 percent, 3.7 percent growth in deposits to $261 million, and $329.8 million in assets with $52.4 million in equity, for a capitalization level of 15.9 percent.