Direct Answer
20 SEC filers are classified under the Standard Industrial Classification code that describes the super-regional banks industry, and their latest annual reports show $585.2 billion of combined revenue and a median net margin of 34.8%. Investors should still evaluate its revenue model, industry-specific KPIs, valuation framework and the risks that can change the group's economics.
Industry Overview
Super-regional banks are large banks that operate across several states with mid-sized national footprints, serving consumers and businesses. They have scale benefits but face rising capital and regulatory rules as they grow. The first numbers to compare across companies here are net interest margin, loan growth and credit costs.
Key Industry Metrics
- Net interest margin: Spread between loan yields and deposit costs, relative to earning assets. It is sensitive to policy rates and deposit competition.
- Loan growth: Increase in lending across consumers and businesses. It supports income, and must be compared with credit standards.
- Credit costs: Provisions and write-offs on loans. They show credit health, and rise as the economy weakens.
- Efficiency ratio: Noninterest expense relative to revenue. Scale helps, though regulatory cost rises with size.
- CET1 ratio: Core capital relative to risk-weighted assets, subject to regulatory minimums and buffers. It determines room for dividends and buybacks.
Primary Macro Drivers
- Interest rates: Rates set loan yields and deposit costs, so the rate path moves net interest margin.
- Regional economic growth: Banks follow local business and household conditions across their states, so regional growth drives loan growth and credit costs.
- Credit cycle: Defaults rise in downturns and eat into earnings and capital. Watch net charge-offs and provisions.
- Capital regulation: As banks grow, they face higher capital and stress test rules, limiting buybacks and growth, shown in the CET1 ratio.
Major Risks
- Credit losses: Recessions lift defaults across the loan book and require larger reserves. Watch credit costs and non-performing loans.
- Commercial real estate exposure: Loans on offices and other property face refinancing stress when rents and values fall. Watch non-performing commercial real estate loans and maturity schedules.
- Deposit competition: Customers move money to higher-paying accounts, raising funding cost. Watch deposit mix and net interest margin.
- Regulatory changes: Higher capital or liquidity requirements reduce payouts and growth. Watch the CET1 ratio and regulatory announcements.
Industry Characteristics
| Characteristic | Profile |
|---|---|
| Cyclicality | Cyclical |
| Capital Intensity | High |
| Regulatory Intensity | High |
| Industry Maturity | Mature |
| Geographic Importance | U.S. |
Super-Regional Banks Filers in the SEC Record
20 companies with annual reports in the dataset are classified by the SEC in the Standard Industrial Classification code 6021. Their latest fiscal years end in 2025, and together they reported $585.2 billion of revenue. Median revenue growth over the prior year was 6.6%. Median net margin was 34.8%. Median total liabilities were 91% of total assets, and 20 of 20 reported a profit in their latest year.
| Company | Revenue | Growth | Operating margin | Net margin | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jpmorgan Chase & Co | $182.4 billion | 2.8% | n/a | 31.2% | FY 2025 |
| Bank Of America Corp | $113.1 billion | 6.8% | n/a | 27.0% | FY 2025 |
| Citigroup Inc | $85.2 billion | 5.6% | n/a | 16.8% | FY 2025 |
| Wells Fargo & Company | $83.7 billion | 1.7% | n/a | 25.5% | FY 2025 |
| Capital One Financial Corp | $53.4 billion | 36.6% | n/a | 4.6% | FY 2025 |
| Us Bancorp \de\ | $28.7 billion | 4.4% | n/a | 26.4% | FY 2025 |
| Pnc Financial Services Group, Inc. | $23.1 billion | 7.2% | n/a | 30.3% | FY 2025 |
| Keycorp | $7.5 billion | 62.7% | n/a | 24.3% | FY 2025 |
The 8 largest of 20 by revenue. Source: each company's own annual report as filed with the SEC (XBRL data), figures in U.S. dollars. A company's SIC code reflects its main business as the SEC records it, so it can differ from how an index provider or analyst classifies the company, and a diversified group appears under only one code.
How Super-Regional Banks companies make money
Super-regional banks occupy a middle tier between the largest money-center institutions and smaller community and regional banks. They typically operate across multiple U.S. regions rather than in a defined local market, and their revenue mix includes both traditional spread-based banking (deposits and loans) and a meaningful share of fee-based businesses such as wealth management, treasury services, capital markets, payments, and specialty lending.
The core earnings driver remains net interest income from the loan and securities portfolio funded by customer deposits. A bank with a stable, low-cost deposit franchise has a structural funding advantage that supports attractive NIMs across interest rate cycles. Super-regional banks often compete aggressively in commercial banking, middle-market lending, and corporate cash management where their scale provides access to larger and more complex deals than smaller community banks can underwrite.
The scale advantage versus purely regional banks shows in technology investment capacity, specialty lending capabilities (healthcare, energy, commercial real estate), access to capital markets distribution, and the ability to provide multi-product treasury and working-capital solutions that require integrated banking relationships. Fee-based businesses at super-regional banks have expanded significantly in recent decades, providing revenue diversification that can offset spread compression.
Understanding the key metrics
Net interest margin
NIM measures the spread between loan and securities yields and funding costs. It varies with the rate cycle, balance-sheet mix, and deposit franchise quality. Super-regional banks with strong commercial deposit franchises tend to maintain more stable NIMs through rate cycles than peers dependent on wholesale funding.
Efficiency ratio
Noninterest expense divided by net revenue. Super-regional banks target efficiency ratios of 55-65%. Technology investment and scale benefits allow the largest operators in this tier to improve efficiency over time.
Return on tangible common equity
ROTCE measures profitability relative to the tangible equity base. High ROTCE (above 15%) justifies a premium over tangible book value. Super-regional banks that invest successfully in fee income businesses can generate higher, more stable ROTCE than pure spread-oriented banks.
Commercial loan growth
C&I and commercial real estate loan growth measures demand for business credit and balance-sheet deployment. Strong commercial loan growth in rising markets adds to NIM leverage; deteriorating loan quality in downturns can lead to elevated provision expense.
Deposits per branch
Deposit efficiency is a proxy for franchise quality in consumer banking. Banks that gather more deposits per branch or per employee have more productive distribution, which translates into lower funding costs.
Valuation framework
Super-regional banks are valued on P/TBV and P/E. P/TBV is useful for cross-cycle comparisons because it anchors valuation to the balance sheet. P/E is more relevant when credit quality is stable and earnings are a reasonable proxy for earning power. Banks generating ROTCE well above their cost of equity typically trade at 1.5-2.5x TBV; those near or below cost of equity may trade near or below book. Fee income quality and management of interest-rate risk both affect the valuation multiple relative to peers.
Competitive structure
Super-regional banks compete across segments: against money-center banks for large corporate accounts, against regional and community banks for middle-market and commercial real estate, and against fintechs and credit unions for consumer deposits and lending. Key advantages are relationship banking capability for middle-market companies, capital markets distribution for mid-size corporate clients, specialty lending expertise, and geographic diversification that buffers local economic concentrations.
Bull case
The bull case for super-regional banks improves when deposit competition stabilizes after a rate cycle, loan demand from middle-market companies remains healthy, credit quality in the commercial portfolio holds despite economic volatility, and fee businesses (wealth management, treasury, capital markets) grow faster than balance-sheet-dependent revenues. Acquisitions of well-run community banks or specialty lenders at attractive prices can add franchise value.
Bear case
The bear case centers on deteriorating credit in commercial real estate or concentrated industry exposures, sustained deposit competition compressing NIM, and technology investment requirements that keep efficiency ratios elevated while fintech competitors undercut pricing in consumer banking. An extended low-rate environment compounds NIM pressure while reducing fee income from wealth management and mortgage banking.
What to monitor
Track these metrics to stay ahead of material changes in industry fundamentals:
- NIM trend and management guidance on deposit repricing beta
- Commercial loan growth and mix (C&I, owner-occupied CRE, investor CRE)
- Deposit composition, uninsured deposit share, and cost of interest-bearing deposits
- Credit quality: nonperforming loans, net charge-offs, reserve coverage
- Fee income growth by business line (wealth management, treasury, capital markets)
- CET1 capital ratio and stress capital buffer versus internal target
- Efficiency ratio trajectory and technology spend as a share of revenue
- Tangible book value per share accretion or dilution from market-value adjustments
- M&A activity and acquisition integration progress
- Regulatory news and supervisory ratings where disclosed
Where to Go Next
The Super-Regional Banks guide describes how the industry earns money, what to measure and what can go wrong. To see how it compares, read the neighbouring industries in the same sector, then apply the same checks to a specific company.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What are the main KPIs for the Super-Regional Banks industry?
Key performance indicators for the Super-Regional Banks industry include: Net interest margin, Loan growth, Credit costs, Efficiency ratio, CET1 ratio. Which matter most depends on the company's model, so compare them across several companies rather than relying on one.
How cyclical is the Super-Regional Banks industry?
The Super-Regional Banks industry is cyclical, meaning its revenues and earnings tend to expand during economic expansions and contract during downturns. Investors should monitor leading economic indicators and interest rate trends when evaluating timing.
What are the biggest risks in the Super-Regional Banks industry?
The primary risks for Super-Regional Banks companies include: Credit losses, Commercial real estate exposure, Deposit competition, Regulatory changes. Investors should assess each company's exposure to these factors and its track record of navigating them.
What distinguishes a super-regional bank from a regional bank?
The distinction is primarily one of scale and business mix rather than a regulatory or formal classification. Super-regional banks typically have assets in the $100 billion to $500 billion range, operate across multiple U.S. regions, and have more diversified revenue including substantial fee businesses from wealth management, treasury services, and capital markets. Smaller regional banks concentrate in a defined geographic market and depend more heavily on deposit spread and community lending.
How does commercial real estate exposure affect super-regional banks?
Commercial real estate is often one of the largest loan categories for super-regional banks. CRE performance depends on property type (office, multifamily, retail, industrial, hospitality), geography, loan-to-value ratios at origination, debt service coverage, and the health of local commercial real estate markets. Concentrated exposure to distressed property types can cause elevated loan losses if values decline or vacancies rise. Office real estate in particular has faced structural challenges from the post-pandemic shift to hybrid work, affecting credit quality for banks with heavy office CRE portfolios.