If you are shopping an SBA 7(a) or conventional commercial loan in Montana, the bank you call first matters more than most borrowers think. A lender that already writes a lot of commercial credit and sits in your state is structurally likelier to say yes than a national name passing through. This page ranks the Montana-headquartered banks doing the most commercial lending right now, using public Q2 2026 FFIEC call-report data. It is the open-book version of what the paid report does with far more inputs.
Montana lends across enormous distances, where a single agricultural bank may be the only commercial credit for a hundred miles in any direction.
The 10 most active commercial lenders in Montana
Ranked by commercial and industrial (C&I) loans outstanding, Q2 2026. Bank names link to the live BankingLens scorecard.
| # | Bank | City | Assets | C&I share | ROA | Fit notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Glacier Bank | Kalispell | $31.6B | 7.9% | 1.20% | Large multi-state regional, a modest C&I share. CRE-heavy book. Loan book up 15% YoY. Top sectors funded in MT: Other Services (12 loans), Accommodation/Food Service (10 loans) |
| 2 | First Interstate Bank | Billings | $25.8B | 9.7% | 1.21% | Large regional lender, a modest C&I share. CRE-heavy book. Loan book down 14% YoY. Top sectors funded in MT: Retail Trade (15 loans), Accommodation/Food Service (11 loans) |
| 3 | Opportunity Bank of Montana | Helena | $2.1B | 9.5% | 0.85% | Community bank, a modest C&I share. CRE-heavy book. Top sectors funded in MT: Health Care (5 loans), Construction (3 loans) |
| 4 | American Bank | Bozeman | $630M | 24.4% | 1.35% | Small local lender, an active C&I book. CRE-heavy book. |
| 5 | Trailwest Bank | Lolo | $1.1B | 8.0% | 1.77% | Community bank, a modest C&I share. Return on assets above 1.5 percent. Loan book up 11% YoY. Top sectors funded in MT: Accommodation/Food Service (2 loans), Educational Services (1 loan) |
| 6 | The Yellowstone Bank | Laurel | $1.3B | 9.3% | 2.98% | Local commercial lender, a modest C&I share. Return on assets above 1.5 percent. |
| 7 | Independence Bank | Havre | $1.4B | 6.3% | 1.93% | Community bank, a modest C&I share. Return on assets above 1.5 percent. Loan book up 11% YoY. |
| 8 | First Montana Bank, Inc. | Missoula | $530M | 13.0% | 1.06% | Small local lender, a steady commercial book. CRE-heavy book. |
| 9 | Bank of Bridger | Bridger | $803M | 8.0% | 0.92% | Small community bank, a modest C&I share. |
| 10 | Farmers State Bank | Victor | $790M | 5.2% | 0.98% | Small local lender, a modest C&I share. CRE-heavy book. Loan book up 11% YoY. |
Assets and ratios are Q2 2026 FFIEC call-report figures. ROA is annualized return on assets. A bank's headquarters city is shown; many lend statewide and beyond.
C&I lending muscle, ranked
Commercial and industrial loans outstanding for the top 10 Montana-HQ lenders, Q2 2026. This is the single number our ranking leans on hardest.
How we ranked these
Four steps, all of them transparent. First, we took every bank headquartered in Montana. Second, a capacity floor: we dropped every Montana-headquartered bank under $500M in total assets, because a smaller balance sheet rarely anchors a primary SBA 7(a) relationship. Third, an active-originator floor: we loosened the usual 10 percent C&I cutoff to 5 percent here, because Montana has a shallow commercial-banking bench and a stricter filter would leave too short a list (a bank that is 90 percent home mortgages is not your SBA lender, regardless of size). Of the banks clearing both floors, 10 made the active list. Fourth, we ranked them by C&I loan dollars outstanding, which already blends balance-sheet size with how committed a bank is to commercial credit, and kept the top 10. Where the call report reports it, the fit notes also flag year-over-year loan-book growth as a rough read on whether a bank is leaning into lending or pulling back; the FFIEC filing does not break out SBA or C&I growth on its own, so treat that as directional, not precise.
Smaller banks may also fund your loan but rank below the active list.
The SBA section below ranks separately: it counts the SBA 7(a) and 504 loans each lender actually made in Montana, from SBA's own loan data, whatever state the lender is based in.
This table is an honest, simplified proxy. The call report does not show a bank's SBA volume or its appetite for your industry; the SBA section shows volume, but not which lender fits your deal. The $49 Borrower Assist report folds all of that in and ranks against your specific deal, not just your state. That is the part worth paying for.
Most active SBA lenders in Montana
The lenders that made the most SBA 7(a) and 504 loans to Montana businesses, federal fiscal year 2023 through June 30, 2026, counted from SBA's own loan-level data. National SBA platforms appear next to Montana's own banks because they lend here too.
84 SBA loans in Montana, $40.2M in total. Most often: Other Services, Accommodation/Food Service.
55 SBA loans in Montana, $5.1M in total. Most often: Construction, Other Services.
48 SBA loans in Montana, $21.5M in total. Most often: Retail Trade, Accommodation/Food Service.
39 SBA loans in Montana, $16.9M in total. Most often: Accommodation/Food Service, Manufacturing.
38 SBA loans in Montana, $4.9M in total. Most often: Professional Services, Administrative & Support.
34 SBA loans in Montana, $12.2M in total. Most often: Other Services, Retail Trade.
26 SBA loans in Montana, $3.6M in total. Most often: Accommodation/Food Service, Construction.
23 SBA loans in Montana, $13.7M in total. Most often: Retail Trade, Manufacturing.
23 SBA loans in Montana, $12.7M in total. Most often: Professional Services, Health Care.
23 SBA loans in Montana, $3.0M in total. Most often: Construction, Retail Trade.
Source: U.S. Small Business Administration 7(a) and 504 loan data, refreshed monthly. Ranked by number of loans. Lenders that have since merged count toward the bank that acquired them.
What Montana looks like for a borrower
Montana lends across enormous distances, where a single agricultural bank may be the only commercial credit for a hundred miles in any direction.
On the numbers: Montana's 34 headquartered banks carry $78.1B in assets between them, the largest being Glacier Bank of Kalispell at $31.6B. The median bank keeps 10.8% of its loan book in C&I credit, which is the pool the table below ranks.
None of that tells you which of these banks will fund your specific deal. A $400,000 restaurant acquisition and a $4M owner-occupied warehouse purchase have different optimal lender lists even in the same state, and the ranking above does not split by loan size, industry, or collateral. Treat it as your starting shortlist, not your final answer.
How to use this list
- Start with the bank near you that has the strongest commercial profile, not just the closest branch. A lender with a real C&I book understands your deal faster.
- Ask for the SBA or commercial lending group directly. The general line routes business deals slowly.
- Have a one-page summary ready: use of funds, cash flow, collateral, owner credit, timeline. Banks decide whether to engage in the first ninety seconds.
- Run two banks in parallel, not five. Two real conversations close a loan; five waste everyone's time.
Hero photo: The Colorado Rockies by Peter Pryharski on Unsplash, used here as a regional editorial image for Montana.