If you are shopping an SBA 7(a) or conventional commercial loan in Nebraska, 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 Nebraska-headquartered banks doing the most commercial lending right now, using public Q1 2026 FFIEC call-report data. It is the open-book version of what the paid report does with far more inputs.
Nebraska's banks are farm banks first, and a strong cattle-and-grain year still moves the state's commercial loan books more than any rate cut does.
The 15 most active commercial lenders in Nebraska
Ranked by commercial and industrial (C&I) loans outstanding, Q1 2026. Bank names link to the live BankingLens scorecard.
| # | Bank | City | Assets | C&I share | ROA | Fit notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | First National Bank of Omaha | Omaha | $34.7B | 10.4% | 1.71% | Large multi-state regional, a modest C&I share. Top-decile returns. |
| 2 | Union Bank and Trust Company | Lincoln | $9.2B | 19.2% | 1.56% | Regional commercial bank, a steady commercial book. Top-decile returns. |
| 3 | American National Bank | Omaha | $5.2B | 19.2% | 1.11% | Mid-size regional, a steady commercial book. CRE-heavy book. |
| 4 | Security National Bank of Omaha | Omaha | $1.8B | 36.1% | 1.53% | Local commercial lender, heavy C&I concentration. Top-decile returns. |
| 5 | Five Points Bank | Grand Island | $2.1B | 24.6% | 1.50% | Community bank, an active C&I book. Top-decile returns. |
| 6 | Cornerstone Bank | York | $2.6B | 13.9% | 1.14% | Local commercial lender, a steady commercial book. |
| 7 | Platte Valley Bank | Scottsbluff | $1.2B | 18.2% | 1.20% | Community bank, a steady commercial book. |
| 8 | Elkhorn Valley Bank & Trust | Norfolk | $1.4B | 15.1% | 1.42% | Local commercial lender, a steady commercial book. |
| 9 | Core Bank | Omaha | $1.1B | 16.2% | 0.70% | Community bank, a steady commercial book. CRE-heavy book. |
| 10 | Access Bank | Omaha | $1.0B | 16.5% | 1.26% | Local commercial lender, a steady commercial book. CRE-heavy book. |
| 11 | First State Bank Nebraska | Lincoln | $1.1B | 14.7% | 1.45% | Community bank, a steady commercial book. |
| 12 | Dundee Bank | Omaha | $922M | 15.8% | 2.09% | Small local lender, a steady commercial book. Top-decile returns. |
| 13 | Arbor Bank | Nebraska City | $712M | 20.2% | 1.03% | Small community bank, an active C&I book. |
| 14 | Midwest Bank | Pierce | $1.2B | 11.9% | 0.98% | Local commercial lender, a modest C&I share. |
| 15 | Nebraskaland Bank | North Platte | $1.0B | 12.5% | 0.48% | Community bank, a steady commercial book. CRE-heavy book. |
Assets and ratios are Q1 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 Nebraska-HQ lenders, Q1 2026. This is the single number our ranking leans on hardest.
How we ranked these
Three steps, all of them transparent. First, we took every bank headquartered in Nebraska. Second, we kept only banks whose commercial and industrial (C&I) loans are at least 10 percent of the loan book (a bank that is 90 percent home mortgages is not your SBA lender, regardless of size). Of the qualifying banks, 76 cleared that bar. Third, 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 15.
This is an honest, simplified proxy. It does not see a bank's actual SBA 7(a) origination volume (that lives in SBA FOIA data, not the call report), its appetite for your industry, or whether it funded forty SBA loans last quarter or zero. 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.
What Nebraska looks like for a borrower
Nebraska's banks are farm banks first, and a strong cattle-and-grain year still moves the state's commercial loan books more than any rate cut does.
The state's banking base totals $115.2B in assets across 141 charters, topped by First National Bank of Omaha (Omaha) at $34.7B. Commercial appetite varies widely; the median Nebraska bank runs a 10.7% C&I share, and First National Bank of Omaha leads on raw C&I dollars ($2.6B).
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: Midwestern farm country by Pieter van de Sande on Unsplash, used here as a regional editorial image for Nebraska.