BofI Holding, Inc. Is No. 1 Largest Public Thrift for Third Year in a Row

On Tuesday, financial information firm SNL Financial announced BofI Holding, Inc. as the top-rated public thrift in 2014. The firm analyzed 100 of the largest public thrifts, and for the third year in a row, BofI was ranked No. 1, reports CNN Money.

BofI Holding, Inc. is the parent company of San Diego-based BofI Federal Bank, a thrift bank with approximately $5.5 billion in assets.

Read: 41 Best Banks and Credit Unions of 2015

How BofI Became the ‘Best of the Biggest Public Thrifts’

To determine its 2014 ranking of the “Best of the Biggest Public Thrifts,” SNL Financial used six financial metrics: return on average assets, return on average tangible common equity, efficiency ratio, median three-year growth rate in tangible book value per share, nonperforming loans to total loans and net charge-offs to average loans for the 12-month period ended Dec. 31, 2014. The firm found that for the last three years, BofI scored the best in median tangible book value per share growth.

“The consistency and scalability of our business model positions us well to continue delivering superior long-term value for our customers and shareholders,” said BofI Holding, Inc.’s president and CEO, Gregory Garrabrants, in a statement.

What Is a Thrift?

Thrifts, or savings and loan associations, are community-oriented financial institutions, usually smaller than both retail and commercial banks, according to Investopedia. Thrift banks operate on a two-part model: they take deposits and offer mortgage loans. Generally, thrifts tend to offer higher deposit rates and lower rates on mortgage loans.

Although thrifts have been suffering a slow decline since the 2008 financial crisis, Garrabrants is optimistic about the thrift’s future. “It is a great honor to once again be recognized as the top-performing thrift in 2014,” he said. “Our three-peat as number one, and seventh consecutive ranking in the top five, illustrates our ability to consistently grow the Bank while maintaining excellent returns, efficiency and credit quality.”

Photo credit: SNL Financial

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: BofI Holding, Inc. Is No. 1 Largest Public Thrift for Third Year in a Row

This article by Misha Euceph first appeared on GoBankingRates.com and was distributed by the Personal Finance Syndication Network.