BancFirst among nation's best
BancFirst announced this month it was named for an eighth consecutive year to t he KBW Bank Honor Roll published by Keefe Bruyette & Woods.
Officials stated BancFirst is one of just 15 banks out of nearly 375 that were considered and is the only Oklahoma bank included on this year's list.
Only publicly traded banking institutions with more than $500 million in total assets that consistently have reported earnings per share growth over the previous decade qualified to be considered, they added.
Thomas B. Michaud, KBW's CEO, said this year's list in particular highlights banks that have continued to prosper, despite encountering periodic regional and national economic collapses the past decade.
"In addition to the personal and global health implications from the COVID- 1 9 pandemic, we are presently within a historic period, confronted with the economic uncertainties resulting from governmental lockdowns to reduce the spread of the coronavirus," Michaud said.
Over a five-year period ending in 2019, KBW Bank Honor Roll members posted significantly better-than-industry average price performance, rising 13.3% compounded annually, officials said.
KB W Bank Honor Roll members also outperformed the broader market, as represented by the S&P 500 Index, and their shares traded at a premium compared to their banking peers.
The banks on t his year's list, Mic haud stated, are “premier banking institutions with a proven track record to withstand economic downturns as well as the ability to deliver above-average growth during periods of economic turmoil.”
He said this year' s honorees, including BancFirst, “consistently differentiated themselves from their banking peers and earned premium valuations and better-than-industry performance.”
Officials said KB W, a wholly owned subsidiary of St if el Financial Corp ., is a leading independent authority in the banking, insurance, brokerage, asset management, mortgage banking and specialty finance sectors.
BancFirst, publicly traded
under the ticker BANF on Nasdaq, is Oklahoma's largest state-chartered bank with locations in more than 60 communities across the state and holds assets of more than $8.6 billion, the bank stated as part of its announcement.