NEW YORK, Feb. 2, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Whalen Global Advisors (“WGA”) has released the WGA Bank Top 50 rankings for Q1 2026. The WGA Top 50 Bank rankings represent the best performers among more than 100 publicly traded banks over $10 billion in total assets. WGA scores the entire population of banks using a proprietary model where size is only one factor. All of the constituents of the WGA Bank Top 50 are available to subscribers to the IRA Premium Service.
“There continues to be an enormous amount of churn in the top 50 banks,” notes WGA Chairman Christopher Whalen. “Goldman Sachs (GS) and Citigroup (C) are the only two large institutions in the top 25 this quarter. Names like Lending Club (LC), which led the group in the second half of 2025, have since fallen back due to concerns about soft Q1 2026 guidance, concerns over core EPS missing expectations, and high share price volatility. SoFi Technologies (SOFI) is another example of a leader in 2025 that has fallen back.”
The fact that the Federal Open Market Committee is unlikely to cut interest rates in 2026 is another factor weighing on bank stocks. In a recent commentary published by WGA (“The Martyrdom of Jerome Powell“), Whalen notes that Fed Chairman Jerome Powell may remain on the Fed’s Board of Governors through the end of his term in January 2028.
“Banks are entering a period of increased uncertainty in terms of earnings and rising credit costs,” notes Whalen, who last month published a comment on the risks to banks from loans to private equity funds (“Does Private Credit Hurt Bank Stocks?“).
“There is an enormous amount of forbearance by large banks with respect to defaulted loans to private equity firms and other non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs). Bank stocks are retreating in 2026 because investors suspect that bad news is coming,” Whalen adds.
About Whalen Global Advisors LLC
Whalen Global Advisors LLC (WGA) is a New York-based consulting, risk analytics, and publishing company that focuses on financial institutions and global markets. WGA publishes The Institutional Risk Analyst (ISSN 2692-1812), the IRA Bank Book (ISBN 978-0-692-09756-4) quarterly review, and the WGA Top Bank Indices. The WGA Bank Top 50 List is available upon request. For additional information, please contact us at: info@rcwhalen.com
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