Fortress Bank: how it compares with its peers
Against 69 IL banks with half to twice its assets, Fortress Bank's strongest measure in Q2 2026 is return on assets (0.85% vs. a 1.15% peer median). Its weakest relative measure is assets per employee ($4.0M vs. $7.4M).
| Measure | Fortress Bank | Peer median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Return on assets Annualized net income over average assets. | 0.85% | 1.15% | Bottom third Ahead of 32% of peers |
| Net interest margin Annualized net interest income over earning assets. | 3.27% | 3.70% | Bottom third Ahead of 23% of peers |
| Efficiency ratio Noninterest expense per dollar of revenue. Lower is better. | 79.80% | 62.75% | Bottom third Ahead of 13% of peers |
| Assets per employee Total assets over full-time-equivalent staff. | $4.0M | $7.4M | Bottom third Ahead of 1% of peers |
| Loans to deposits Net loans and leases over total deposits. | 99.41% | 77.97% | Context |
What it means for lending operations
Its efficiency ratio of 79.80% is above the 62.75% peer median: it spends more to earn each dollar of revenue than most banks its size. Staff time on manual borrower verification (collecting pay stubs, bank statements, and employment letters, then re-keying them) is one of the larger controllable costs behind that number.
Banks closest in size
- Farmers National Bank Prophetstown, IL · $896M
- Liberty Bank for Savings Chicago, IL · $869M
- Resource Bank, National Association Dekalb, IL · $869M
- First National Bank of Waterloo Waterloo, IL · $929M
- Millennium Bank Des Plaines, IL · $844M
- Prairie State Bank and Trust Springfield, IL · $840M
Questions about Fortress Bank
How big is Fortress Bank?
Fortress Bank, established in 1904, is headquartered in Peoria, IL. It reported $897M in total assets in its Q2 2026 FDIC call report and operates 10 offices.
What is Fortress Bank's return on assets?
0.85% annualized in Q2 2026, against a 1.15% median for 69 IL banks with half to twice its assets, ahead of 32% of them.
What is Fortress Bank's efficiency ratio?
79.80% in Q2 2026: it spent about 80 cents in noninterest expense for each dollar of revenue. The peer median is 62.75%, and lower is better.
Is Fortress Bank growing its loans?
Net loans grew 6.1% over the year to Q2 2026, while deposits grew 5.6%.
Sources and method
Figures are from the FDIC’s public call report data for the quarter ending 06/30/2026, via FDIC BankFind. Return on assets and net interest margin are annualized year to date. Peers are IL banks with half to twice its assets in the same quarter, excluding this bank. The page refreshes daily, so new quarters appear as banks file. Compare another bank or see every Illinois bank ranked.