Community Bank System, Inc. (“Community Bank”), the parent company of Community Bank, N.A., was recently honored by Forbes and BankDirector Magazine with top rankings compared to other banks around the nation, said a press release from the corporation.

The bank operates branches and offices throughout St. Lawrence County.

In January 2021, Forbes released its rankings of America’s Best Banks for 2021 and Community Bank was ranked 7th in the nation based on its growth, credit quality, and profitability. This is the 12th year in a row that Community Bank has ranked among the top 12 in Forbes’ ranking of America’s Best Banks, the press release said.

In order to create the ranking of America’s Best Banks for 2021, Forbes reviewed the 100 largest publicly-traded banks and thrifts by asset size and excluded financial institutions where the top-level parent was based outside the U.S.

Forbes then examined the following 10 metrics to arrive at its rankings: return on average tangible common equity; return on average assets; net interest margin; efficiency ratio; net charge-offs as a percentage of total loans; nonperforming assets as a percentage of assets; CET1 ratio; risk-based capital ratio; reserves as a percentage of nonperforming assets; and operating revenue growth.

Forbes also included Community Bank among the banks recognized in its ranking of the World’s Best Banks for 2020. This recognition was based on customer surveys designed to measure the best banks in nearly two dozen countries. The banks were rated on the responses regarding the customers’ overall recommendation and satisfaction, as well as five additional categories, including trust, terms and conditions, customer services, digital services and financial advice. It is an honor to be recognized by customers as one of the World’s Best Banks.

In addition, Community Bank was recognized by BankDirector Magazine in its 2021 RankingBanking study as an industry “performance powerhouse.” Community Bank received the following rankings from BankDirector:

• Ranked 10th overall as a Top Performer

• Ranked 1st for the Best Retail Strategy

• Ranked 3rd for Best Employer

• Ranked 5th for Best Credit Risk Strategy

In order to create the RankingBanking Performance Powerhouse ranking, BankDirector examined multiple factors that impact a bank’s performance, including profitability, revenue generation, growth, efficiency and credit risk, and looked into each bank’s retail and lending strategies.  

Community Bank was honored to be featured among the 20 other financial institutions recognized for their financial strength and effective business strategies, the press release said.