Mutual Survey

Mutual institutions represent a strong voice within the banking industry. With a deep tradition of consumer-oriented community banking, these organizations include 494 mutual, community-based institutions, including 160 mutual holding companies. SNL Financial reports that mutual banks held a total of $126.8 billion in assets, and banks held by mutual holding companies held a total of $141.8 billion in assets, giving us a combined total of $268.6 billion in assets as of December 31, 2017. The median asset size for mutual banks was $164.6 million. There were 114 mutual banks with under $100 million in assets. There were 22 mutual banks with assets over $1 billion. The median asset size for a mutual holding company was $468.3 million. There were 17 mutual holding companies with under $100 million in assets. There were 38 mutual holding companies with assets over $1 billion.

Mutuals constituted 8.7 percent of all FDIC-insured banks at the end of 2017, up from 8.2 percent a decade earlier. The proportion increased because mutuals failed at a lower rate than other banks during the recession, and since have combined at a slower rate as well.

Mutuals are well-managed, conservatively run institutions that are strongly capitalized, profitable and give back to their communities. The ABA Mutual Institutions Council consists of over a hundred actively engaged mutual bankers from around the country. 

This annual survey covers a wide range of topics including: institution identity, compensation, mergers and partnerships, commitment to mutuality, operational and financial issues, liquidity, capital, performance, examination experience, among other issues.