Sunwest Bank Receives Top 200 Community Bank Recognition from American Banker

Industry Publication Continues to Recognize Sunwest Bank as a Top Financial Institution, Cementing it as a Cornerstone in Commercial Banking.

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Sunwest Bank

Jun 27, 2019, 08:12 ET

IRVINE, Calif., June 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Sunwest Bank, a division of H Bancorp, is excited to announce that it has been ranked 57^th in American Banker magazine's "Top 200 Publicly Traded Community Banks," in their May 2019 issue. This continues the bank's rise in recognition which was ranked 158^th in 2017 and 99^th in 2018. There are more than 600 qualified institutions across the United States that were considered.

"We are excited to be named in American Banker magazine's list of top performing banks over the past several years. As a bank built for entrepreneurs, by entrepreneurs; our focus is to empower our clients to pursue their American Dream," said Carson Lappetito, President of Sunwest Bank. "We are grateful to our loyal clients and dedicated team members who have made our success possible over the past 50 years."

Rankings for the Top 200 Publicly Traded Community Banks and Thrifts are determined by each institution's return on average equity (ROAE); a measure of profitability widely used by investors to analyze business performance. The median ROAE for the 601 institutions in 2018 was 9.66 percent. Sunwest Bank's ROAE was 13.78 percent, placing them in the top ten percent of the reviewed institutions.

You can find the full report here: https://www.americanbanker.com/data/big-gains-but-warning-signs-the-top-200-publicly-traded-community-banks.

This recognition follows another strong quarter of performance for Sunwest Bank. During the first quarter of 2019, net income was $5.6 million, compared to $4.3 million, in 2018. This increase was fueled by a strong net interest margin, which has grown to 4.52 percent, compared to 4.27 percent, a year ago.

"Being named, once again, on American Banker's respected industry list is quite an honor," said Sunwest Bank CFO, Kent Smith. "We continue to see strategic growth opportunities through the expansion of our branch and lending platforms. We are very optimistic about our ability to improve our earnings throughout 2019."

For more information on Sunwest Bank's products and services, visit https://sunwestbank.com.

About Sunwest Bank
Founded in 1969, Sunwest Bank is a privately held commercial bank with more than $1.3 Billion in assets. Headquartered in Irvine, CA, with operations in California, Arizona, Idaho and Utah; Sunwest is an entrepreneurial business bank with a long tradition of providing excellent service to entrepreneurs, privately held corporations, family offices, small-medium sized business and real estate developers throughout the Western United States. Sunwest Bank is a Member FDIC and Equal Housing Lender.

Media Contact
Tyler Lyon
IDPR for Sunwest Bank
Tel: +1 949 777-2424
Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Sunwest Bank