Inside the Bankzia Trust Grade: How We Calculate A–F Scores
The Trust Grade combines FDIC/NCUA financial data with CFPB complaint records into a single A–F score. Here's exactly how it works.
The Bankzia Trust Grade is a composite A–F score designed to answer one question: of all the federally insured banks and credit unions in America, which ones should I trust with my money?
The two pillars
Every Trust Grade starts with two pillars: Financial Strength and Customer Experience. Financial Strength carries 60% weight; Customer Experience carries 40% (when CFPB complaint data is available).
Pillar 1: Financial Strength (60%)
- Capital ratio (60% of pillar): Equity divided by total assets. Benchmarked against institutions of the same asset tier in the same state.
- Return on assets — ROA (25% of pillar): Net income divided by average assets.
- Institutional stability (15% of pillar): Years in operation, charter type.
Pillar 2: Customer Experience (40%)
- Complaint rate per $1B assets (45% of pillar): Benchmarked against peer institutions in the same asset tier.
- Response timeliness (20%): % of complaints answered within CFPB's required timeframe.
- Consumer relief rate (20%): % of complaints closed with any monetary or non-monetary relief.
- Dispute rate (15%): % of complaints disputed by consumers after the company's response.
Score-to-grade conversion
- A: 90–100 · B: 75–89 · C: 60–74 · D: 45–59 · F: Below 45
Data sources: FDIC BankFind Suite (quarterly call reports), NCUA Financial Performance Reports, CFPB Consumer Complaint Database. Financial figures reflect the most recently published quarterly call report data. Complaint data is updated as new CFPB records are published. The Bankzia Trust Grade is a proprietary composite score — not a government rating. Deposits at all listed institutions are federally insured up to $250,000 per depositor, per ownership category.
Frequently Asked Questions
Betty Jones has spent 12 years covering banking regulation, consumer finance, and the economics of trust in financial institutions. She started her career at a regional newspaper covering the Federal Reserve and FDIC regulatory beat before moving into financial media. Betty holds a journalism degree from the University of Texas at Austin and has been a contributing analyst at several fintech publications. She built Bankzia's editorial framework and is the primary author of the Trust Grade methodology explainer series.
