Identifying the Great Community Banks
Bank Scores uses its proprietary, demanding scoring model to rank Texas community banks with assets between $500 million and $2 billion. The goal is to uphold the high performance banks that operate in a safe, conservative way. The results are posted on our Texas Community Bank Scoreboard along with "Quobs"–questions and observations–on each bank.

Bank Scores founder
Wayne Merritt served many years as a bank CEO and director. He is an avid student of the strategies and financial performance which community banks must produce to remain competitive.
Based on more than three decades of banking experience, we provide opinions on the CEO mindset regarding bank strategies and dangerous practices. Good CEOs are keenly aware that a bank's own solid financial condition is its best evidence to its customers that the bank can be trusted.
Community banks will not beat the behemoth banks, credit unions or the bank “imposters” by just being a community bank. They must create and execute competitive advantages. The Texas Scoreboard provides evidence that the best community banks can go head-to-head with anyone.
Finally, we offer customized consulting services to bankers who want their banks to stay or be in the group of elite banks. Click the Services link for information.
How to Use this Website
The four basic elements of the Bank Scores website are the Texas Community Bank Scoreboard, QUOBS, the Bank Scores Model and Editorials.
The Texas Community Bank Scoreboard lists Texas banks that are $500 million to $2 billion in assets. Click on the Score column header to sort the banks by the scores they achieve on our Bank Scores Model. Search Tip: To find a specific bank, type the city or bank name in the Search Box. Search by city name will show all of the banks in that city.
You can also click on the “city/bank name” listed in the Scoreboard to see the most recent QUOB (pronounced Kwob) on that bank. QUOB is an acronym for “questions and observations” about the financial condition or practices of a bank—basically a brief analysis of the bank’s key strengths or weaknesses, with probing questions posed to management or the board of directors.
The Bank Scores Model explains the rationale of the scoring factors.
The fourth document you will find is an Editorial in which Wayne Merritt, as a former community bank CEO, opines on key banking issues and he interprets individual bank strategies or behaviors, some of which are admirable while some are, let’s say, not conservative
If you are new to Bank Scores, we suggest starting with the Scoreboard Overview which explains how we categorize our findings and reports. You’ll also want to try out the Search Box and Report Categories menu that appear at the bottom of most pages.
Latest Texas Scoreboard, QUOBS, and Editorials
May 3rd, 2012
Here's the 1Q12 Texas Scoreboard of community banks $500MM – $2 Billion Assets More…
May 11th, 2012
Good grief!! Now comes Chase Bank announcing a $2 billion loss in its proprietary trading operation. Paraphrasing Jamie Dimon’s explanation: “Gee, I thought we knew what we were doing”. More…
March 22nd, 2012
How does the sale price of ASB Lubbock compare to that of Encore Bank…… More…
March 20th, 2012
Shrewd investors know when it is time to get out……. More…
March 5th, 2012
Too much french fries, pizza and cheese burgers won't kill you in one day, but…. More…
February 29th, 2012
ASB sells to Prosperity…bummer. More…
February 2nd, 2012
Independent Bank McKinney scored 35 points at
4Q11….growing for sure.
More…
February 2nd, 2012
NexBank in Dallas scored 50 points as of
4Q11.….cleaning house!
More…
February 2nd, 2012
American Bank of Commerce in Wolfforth scored 60 points as of
4Q11…still working on its numbers.
More…
February 2nd, 2012
First United Bank Dimmitt scored another perfect 100 at
4Q11.…congratulations!
More…
February 2nd, 2012
CommunityBank of Texas in Beaumont scored 65 points as of 4Q11…one step away, but a big step. More…
February 2nd, 2012
Central National Bank scored 85 points as of
4Q11….challenges ahead.
More…