Short version: Of the 1,791 US banks holding at least $500M in assets that reported a cost of funds for Q2 2026, the 50th-lowest came in at 1.17%. The median across the same group was 2.47%. The top of the table is Stifel Trust Company of Saint Louis, MO at 0.05%.
What you are looking at
Cost of funds is interest expense over interest-bearing liabilities and deposits: what a bank pays for the money it lends. It is the half of the margin a bank can actually manage, and the half that moves first when rates turn.
Lower is better here, so this list runs from the cheapest funding upward.
The ranking is built from the FFIEC call reports filed for the period ending June 30, 2026 - the same data the BankingLens dashboard serves, not a sample. Two screens are applied before anything is sorted. Banks under $500M in total assets are left out, because at that size a single lumpy quarter moves a ratio further than any strategy would and a national list becomes a list of accidents. And a charter has to be in the banking business to be ranked: deposits worth at least a quarter of its assets, or loans worth at least a quarter of its assets. That second screen removes 11 trust and custody charters this quarter, whose ratios are arithmetic rather than performance.
1,791 banks clear both screens and reported a cost of funds this quarter. 24 of the 50 below link to their own page, where the same figures sit beside the rest of the call report.
The 50 banks, ranked
Click a column header to sort. Cost of funds is the headline number; Noninterest-bearing is the share of deposits paying no interest at all, which is where a low cost of funds almost always comes from.
| # | Bank | HQ | Asset band | Cost of funds | Noninterest-bearing | Assets |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stifel Trust Company | Saint Louis, MO | $500M - $1B | 0.05% | 0.00% | $911M |
| 2 | Charles Schwab Premier Bank, SSB | Westlake, TX | $10B - $100B | 0.06% | 0.01% | $26.6B |
| 3 | Ameriprise Bank, FSB | Minneapolis, MN | $10B - $100B | 0.19% | 0.00% | $25.5B |
| 4 | First Century Bank | Commerce, GA | $500M - $1B | 0.27% | 74.31% | $832M |
| 5 | First Command Bank | Fort Worth, TX | $1B - $3B | 0.30% | 2.06% | $1.1B |
| 6 | Charles Schwab Trust Bank | Westlake, TX | $10B - $100B | 0.31% | 15.58% | $10.5B |
| 7 | Jeff Bank | Jeffersonville, NY | $500M - $1B | 0.34% | 33.66% | $686M |
| 8 | Charles Schwab Bank, SSB | Westlake, TX | Over $100B | 0.36% | 0.16% | $250.8B |
| 9 | The Bank of Southside Virginia | Carson, VA | $500M - $1B | 0.40% | 39.52% | $670M |
| 10 | Westamerica Bank | San Rafael, CA | $3B - $10B | 0.45% | 44.89% | $5.8B |
| 11 | USAA Federal Savings Bank | Phoenix, AZ | Over $100B | 0.46% | 0.45% | $106.2B |
| 12 | First National Bank & Trust Company of Newtown | Newtown, PA | $1B - $3B | 0.47% | 54.77% | $1.2B |
| 13 | RBC Bank (georgia) | Atlanta, GA | $3B - $10B | 0.63% | 17.55% | $9.6B |
| 14 | Western Commerce Bank | Carlsbad, NM | $500M - $1B | 0.67% | 32.02% | $864M |
| 15 | Eastern Michigan Bank | Croswell, MI | $500M - $1B | 0.69% | 29.77% | $554M |
| 16 | Optum Bank, Inc. | Draper, UT | $10B - $100B | 0.76% | 14.21% | $21.4B |
| 17 | Chain Bridge Bank | Mc Lean, VA | $1B - $3B | 0.78% | 83.83% | $2.2B |
| 18 | United Bank | Zebulon, GA | $1B - $3B | 0.85% | 39.77% | $2.2B |
| 19 | The Pitney Bowes Bank Inc. | Salt Lake City, UT | $500M - $1B | 0.86% | 12.60% | $796M |
| 20 | Watertown Savings Bank | Watertown, NY | $500M - $1B | 0.86% | 45.12% | $971M |
| 21 | Bank of Eastern Oregon | Heppner, OR | $500M - $1B | 0.89% | 26.48% | $934M |
| 22 | M C Bank & Trust Company | Morgan City, LA | $500M - $1B | 0.90% | 32.84% | $710M |
| 23 | The First National Bank of Mertzon | Mertzon, TX | $500M - $1B | 0.90% | 30.54% | $500M |
| 24 | Whitaker Bank, Inc | Lexington, KY | $1B - $3B | 0.91% | 35.19% | $1.9B |
| 25 | Westbury Bank | Waukesha, WI | $500M - $1B | 0.92% | 32.75% | $772M |
| 26 | National Bank of Middlebury | Middlebury, VT | $500M - $1B | 0.96% | 18.00% | $554M |
| 27 | First Community Bank | Bluefield, VA | $3B - $10B | 0.97% | 32.02% | $3.6B |
| 28 | American Savings Bank | Honolulu, HI | $3B - $10B | 0.99% | 31.18% | $9.0B |
| 29 | First Farmers and Merchants Bank | Columbia, TN | $1B - $3B | 1.02% | 30.86% | $1.8B |
| 30 | Citizens Bank | Corvallis, OR | $500M - $1B | 1.02% | 48.15% | $823M |
| 31 | The First State Bank | Louise, TX | $500M - $1B | 1.05% | 2.33% | $895M |
| 32 | Arthur State Bank | Union, SC | $500M - $1B | 1.05% | 30.14% | $832M |
| 33 | Sturdy Savings Bank | Stone Harbor, NJ | $1B - $3B | 1.06% | 21.86% | $1.1B |
| 34 | SMBC Manubank | Los Angeles, CA | $3B - $10B | 1.07% | 11.59% | $6.6B |
| 35 | Grundy Bank | Morris, IL | $500M - $1B | 1.09% | 32.41% | $505M |
| 36 | Century Savings Bank | Vineland, NJ | $500M - $1B | 1.10% | 22.88% | $635M |
| 37 | Sutton Bank | Attica, OH | $1B - $3B | 1.11% | 75.00% | $1.7B |
| 38 | Woodtrust Bank | Wisconsin Rapids, WI | $500M - $1B | 1.11% | 19.19% | $735M |
| 39 | The Brenham National Bank | Brenham, TX | $500M - $1B | 1.11% | 29.85% | $518M |
| 40 | Stafford Savings Bank | Stafford Springs, CT | $500M - $1B | 1.12% | 4.96% | $507M |
| 41 | First Southern National Bank | Lancaster, KY | $1B - $3B | 1.12% | 21.42% | $1.3B |
| 42 | Southeastern Bank | Darien, GA | $500M - $1B | 1.12% | 28.49% | $625M |
| 43 | El Dorado Savings Bank, F.S.B. | Placerville, CA | $1B - $3B | 1.14% | 15.77% | $2.4B |
| 44 | Adirondack Bank | Utica, NY | $1B - $3B | 1.14% | 36.45% | $1.0B |
| 45 | The Citizens Bank | Farmington, NM | $500M - $1B | 1.15% | 33.95% | $804M |
| 46 | South Georgia Banking Company | Omega, GA | $500M - $1B | 1.15% | 35.96% | $570M |
| 47 | Oak Valley Community Bank | Oakdale, CA | $1B - $3B | 1.16% | 32.21% | $2.0B |
| 48 | Montecito Bank & Trust | Santa Barbara, CA | $1B - $3B | 1.16% | 40.18% | $2.0B |
| 49 | The Bank of South Carolina | Charleston, SC | $500M - $1B | 1.17% | 36.88% | $571M |
| 50 | First State Bank and Trust | Monticello, IL | $500M - $1B | 1.17% | 29.73% | $510M |
Source: FFIEC call report data for the quarter ending June 30, 2026. Universe: US banks with $500M or more in total assets that reported a cost of funds and fund or lend like a bank. Sorted ascending, because lower is better.
Leaders by asset size
A single national list on a ratio like this is really a list of business models, and the largest banks and the smallest ones are not competing with each other for anything. These are the leaders inside each asset band, which is the comparison a bank of that size would actually make.
| # | Bank | HQ | Cost of funds | Assets |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $500M - $1B · 745 banks · median 2.40% | ||||
| 1 | Stifel Trust Company | Saint Louis, MO | 0.05% | $911M |
| 2 | First Century Bank | Commerce, GA | 0.27% | $832M |
| 3 | Jeff Bank | Jeffersonville, NY | 0.34% | $686M |
| 4 | The Bank of Southside Virginia | Carson, VA | 0.40% | $670M |
| 5 | Western Commerce Bank | Carlsbad, NM | 0.67% | $864M |
| $1B - $3B · 625 banks · median 2.49% | ||||
| 1 | First Command Bank | Fort Worth, TX | 0.30% | $1.1B |
| 2 | First National Bank & Trust Company of Newtown | Newtown, PA | 0.47% | $1.2B |
| 3 | Chain Bridge Bank | Mc Lean, VA | 0.78% | $2.2B |
| 4 | United Bank | Zebulon, GA | 0.85% | $2.2B |
| 5 | Whitaker Bank, Inc | Lexington, KY | 0.91% | $1.9B |
| $3B - $10B · 263 banks · median 2.56% | ||||
| 1 | Westamerica Bank | San Rafael, CA | 0.45% | $5.8B |
| 2 | RBC Bank (georgia) | Atlanta, GA | 0.63% | $9.6B |
| 3 | First Community Bank | Bluefield, VA | 0.97% | $3.6B |
| 4 | American Savings Bank | Honolulu, HI | 0.99% | $9.0B |
| 5 | SMBC Manubank | Los Angeles, CA | 1.07% | $6.6B |
| $10B - $100B · 126 banks · median 2.54% | ||||
| 1 | Charles Schwab Premier Bank, SSB | Westlake, TX | 0.06% | $26.6B |
| 2 | Ameriprise Bank, FSB | Minneapolis, MN | 0.19% | $25.5B |
| 3 | Charles Schwab Trust Bank | Westlake, TX | 0.31% | $10.5B |
| 4 | Optum Bank, Inc. | Draper, UT | 0.76% | $21.4B |
| 5 | NBT Bank | Norwich, NY | 1.45% | $16.1B |
| Over $100B · 32 banks · median 2.76% | ||||
| 1 | Charles Schwab Bank, SSB | Westlake, TX | 0.36% | $250.8B |
| 2 | USAA Federal Savings Bank | Phoenix, AZ | 0.46% | $106.2B |
| 3 | Regions Bank | Birmingham, AL | 1.84% | $159.8B |
| 4 | TD Bank | Wilmington, DE | 1.97% | $342.8B |
| 5 | KeyBank | Cleveland, OH | 2.13% | $188.6B |
What normal looks like
A ranking only means something against the middle of the distribution. These are the quartiles for cost of funds across every bank that filed for Q2 2026, including the thousands too small to appear above. The median bank reported 2.34%, with the middle half between 1.90% and 2.79%.
| Asset band | 25th pct | Median | 75th pct |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under $100M | 1.49% | 2.05% | 2.56% |
| $100M - $300M | 1.81% | 2.22% | 2.69% |
| $300M - $1B | 1.94% | 2.38% | 2.79% |
| $1B - $3B | 2.15% | 2.49% | 2.95% |
| $3B - $10B | 2.14% | 2.56% | 2.93% |
| $10B - $100B | 2.09% | 2.54% | 3.04% |
| Over $100B | 2.24% | 2.76% | 3.50% |
Source: BankingLens, computed from FFIEC call reports for the quarter ending June 30, 2026. Quartiles are calculated across the full population of filing banks in each size band, not sampled.
Why the top of the list looks like this
Cheap funding comes from one of three places. The first is a deposit base that does not pay interest at all - operating accounts, escrow, payroll, title and trust balances - which is why the noninterest-bearing column beside the ranking explains most of the table on its own.
The second is captive balances. Brokerage sweep banks, trust banks and affiliated charters hold deposits that arrive as a by-product of another relationship, so they are not priced against the bank down the road. Their cost of funds can sit near zero while their noninterest-bearing share reads zero too, which looks contradictory until you notice the rate being paid on the sweep is what is low, not the interest-bearing share.
The third is a market that does not shop. Long-tenured community banks in concentrated rural markets fund themselves at a fraction of the national rate, and have done so through several cycles. That is durable in a way the first two are not, because it does not depend on one affiliate relationship continuing.
What cost of funds does not tell you
Cheap funding is only worth having if it is stable. The question a low number does not answer is what the balances are doing: deposits that are cheap because they are captive leave when the relationship behind them does, and a low rate on a shrinking base is not an advantage. Read this table beside deposit growth, not on its own.
It also says nothing about what the money earns once it is lent. A bank funding at 30 basis points into securities yielding 3% is in a different business from one funding at 90 basis points into loans yielding 8%, and the second one usually makes more money.
Which is why a ranking is a starting point rather than an answer. Every bank above has a page here carrying its full call report picture, and Bank Peer Intel on the dashboard puts each figure against the peer group the bank is actually measured in - percentile rank on every metric, fourteen quarters of trend, and the flags an examiner reaches for first. That is how you tell a structural result from a good quarter.
Methodology
- Universe. Every US bank that filed a call report with the FFIEC for the quarter ending June 30, 2026.
- Size screen. Banks under $500M in total assets are excluded. A ranking of every filer on a raw ratio is topped by institutions small enough for one unusual quarter to move the number more than any decision they made.
- Banking screen. A charter is ranked only if deposits are at least 25% of assets or loans and leases are at least 25% of assets. 11 trust and custody charters over the size floor do neither: they file a call report but hold almost no deposits and make almost no loans, so their ratios are a function of near-empty denominators. Unusual but genuine banks - wholesale lenders, sweep-deposit banks, merchant lenders - clear it.
- Eligible. 1,791 banks cleared both screens and reported a cost of funds for the quarter.
- Cost of funds definition. Total interest expense over average interest-bearing liabilities, annualized, on the same two-point average basis as every other ratio here.
- Ranking. Sorted by cost of funds ascending - a lower number is better for this metric, so the "best" list runs upward from the lowest. Top 50 shown, plus the top 5 inside each asset band.
- Source. FFIEC Central Data Repository, joined to bank identity - name, city, state, RSSD id and FDIC certificate - from the same filing. Figures are as reported by each institution and are not adjusted or restated.
- Reproducibility. This page is generated by
_tools/seo/build_ranking_pages.mjsfrom the published dataset. It is not hand-maintained, and it carries no figure that was typed in.
Related reading
- What is a good cost of funds for a bank? - quartiles by asset band, and what moves the number.
- What is a good loan to deposit ratio? - what the funding is being used for once it arrives.
- What is a good net interest margin? - the other half of the spread.