If you are shopping an SBA 7(a) or conventional commercial loan in North Dakota, 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 North Dakota-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.
North Dakota is the only state that owns its own bank, and that public-banking backbone shapes a commercial market unlike anywhere else in the country.
The 15 most active commercial lenders in North Dakota
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 | Bell Bank | Fargo | $14.8B | 15.5% | 0.96% | Large multi-state regional, a steady commercial book. Top sectors funded in ND: Manufacturing (3 loans), Health Care (2 loans) |
| 2 | Western State Bank | Devils Lake | $2.6B | 54.5% | 1.98% | Local commercial lender, heavy C&I concentration. Top-decile returns. Top sectors funded in ND: Other Services (3 loans), Wholesale Trade (1 loan) |
| 3 | First International Bank and Trust | Watford City | $6.0B | 22.8% | 1.27% | Mid-size regional, an active C&I book. CRE-heavy book. Loan book up 10% YoY. Top sectors funded in ND: Health Care (4 loans), Professional Services (3 loans) |
| 4 | Alerus Financial | Grand Forks | $5.3B | 16.7% | 1.81% | Regional commercial bank, a steady commercial book. Top-decile returns. Top sectors funded in ND: Accommodation/Food Service (3 loans), Other Services (2 loans) |
| 5 | Choice Financial Group | Fargo | $6.1B | 15.5% | 1.29% | Mid-size regional, a steady commercial book. CRE-heavy book. Top sectors funded in ND: Professional Services (6 loans), Other Services (4 loans) |
| 6 | Bravera Bank | Dickinson | $3.9B | 11.8% | 1.24% | Regional commercial bank, a modest C&I share. Loan book up 16% YoY. |
| 7 | First Western Bank and Trust | Minot | $2.3B | 15.7% | 0.93% | Community bank, a steady commercial book. |
| 8 | Cornerstone Bank | Fargo | $1.8B | 15.7% | 1.27% | Local commercial lender, a steady commercial book. |
| 9 | Starion Bank | Bismarck | $2.1B | 14.7% | 1.10% | Community bank, a steady commercial book. CRE-heavy book. |
| 10 | Border Bank | Fargo | $1.1B | 14.0% | 1.13% | Local commercial lender, a steady commercial book. Loan book up 10% YoY. |
| 11 | Dakota Community Bank & Trust | Hebron | $1.4B | 10.7% | 1.76% | Community bank, a modest C&I share. Top-decile returns. Loan book up 11% YoY. |
| 12 | Kodabank | Drayton | $567M | 17.4% | 1.53% | Small local lender, a steady commercial book. Top-decile returns. Loan book up 13% YoY. |
| 13 | American State Bank & Trust Company of Williston | Williston | $661M | 25.1% | 2.45% | Small community bank, an active C&I book. Top-decile returns. |
| 14 | United Valley Bank | Cavalier | $723M | 13.0% | 0.86% | Small local lender, a steady commercial book. Loan book up 9% YoY. |
| 15 | First State Bank & Trust | Williston | $540M | 16.7% | 1.58% | Small community bank, a steady commercial book. Top-decile returns. Loan book up 12% YoY. |
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 North Dakota-HQ lenders, Q1 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 North Dakota. Second, a capacity floor: we dropped every North Dakota-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 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 banks clearing both floors, 15 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 15. 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.
Active originator floor applied: state-HQ banks with $500M+ assets and 10%+ C&I share. Smaller banks may also fund your loan but rank below the active list.
The national SBA specialists section ranks separately because they lend across all states, not just North Dakota.
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.
National SBA specialists worth knowing
These banks are not headquartered in North Dakota but actively lend to North Dakota borrowers via SBA 7(a). They run nationwide 7(a) platforms and routinely out-originate any single state's home-grown banks on 7(a) volume, so they belong on your call list even though they sit outside the state ranking above.
The largest SBA 7(a) lender in the country by dollar volume, built from the ground up around small-business lending nationwide.
A perennial top-five SBA 7(a) originator running a technology-first small-business lending platform across all 50 states.
One of the most active SBA 7(a) lenders by loan count, with a national footprint and a deep small-loan program.
A leading SBA 7(a) lender whose government-guaranteed lending group writes across the Midwest and well beyond.
Consistently among the highest-volume SBA 7(a) lenders by number of loans, with a long-running small-business franchise.
Listed separately because they lend across all states, not just North Dakota. Ordering reflects national SBA 7(a) prominence, not a North Dakota-specific ranking, and these names are not scored against the call-report table above.
What North Dakota looks like for a borrower
North Dakota is the only state that owns its own bank, and that public-banking backbone shapes a commercial market unlike anywhere else in the country.
Across 61 North Dakota-headquartered banks sits $64.9B in total assets, anchored by Bell Bank in Fargo at $14.8B. Half the state's lenders hold more than 10.7% of their loans in C&I, half less; the ranking below pulls the most commercial-heavy to the top.
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: American farmland by benjamin lehman on Unsplash, used here as a regional editorial image for North Dakota.