Most of the US's 88 mid-sized banks, classified as those with assets of between $10bn and $100bn, follow a plain vanilla banking strategy, lending to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and originating (and refinancing) mortgages for single-income families. These are both credit markets where there have been significant upticks in growth in the past several quarters, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). Indeed, as of June 30, 2012, the medium-sized banks’ average return on assets and return on equity ratios were higher than the US banking industry’s average, according to the FDIC.
They are also banks with a specific regional franchise, with subsidiaries of bank holding companies, and bank branches and offices, typically straddling several US states.
