Rising Credit Concerns Hurt Financial Stocks
BRIARCLIFF MANOR, NY / ACCESS Newswire / November 3, 2025 / Whalen Global Advisors has released the WGA Bank Top 50 for Q4 2025. The top 10 banks are shown below:
WGA Corporate Logo
Rank | Name | Ticker | TotalScore |
1 | American Express | AXP | 483 |
2 | SoFi Technology | SOFI | 481 |
3 | Morgan Stanley | MS | 462 |
4 | Goldman Sachs | GS | 444 |
5 | JPMorgan | JPM | 439 |
6 | Charles Schwab | SCHW | 438 |
7 | Stifel Financial | SF | 431 |
8 | Bank America | BAC | 429 |
9 | Bank of New York | BK | 427 |
10 | Wells Fargo | WFC | 426 |
The WGA Top 50 Banks represents the best performers among more than 100 banks over $10 billion in assets. WGA scores the entire population of banks in Peer Group 1 each quarter using a proprietary model where size is only one factor. Most ETFs, for example, select members solely by size. The WGA approach ensures that the top scoring banks have the highest rank on the WGA Bank Top 50 list regardless of size. All of the constituents of the WGA Bank Top 50 are available to subscribers to the IRA Premium Service.
"There has been a great deal of movement among the top 100 banks tracked by the WGA Top Bank model," notes WGA Chairman Christopher Whalen. "Two small banks dropped out of Peer Group 1 due to M&A in Q3 2025, but more that 79 banks have been acquired so far this year. But the big concern going into Q4 2025 is credit."
A number of institutions, including Zions Bancorporation, NA (ZION) and Western Alliance (WAL) fell significantly in this quarter's rankings due to concerns about credit losses arising from alleged fraud involving collateral backing a real estate loan. Losses on commercial and multifamily real estate loans continue to rise, adding to investor concerns about collateral and potential fraud.
"More than half of the bank stocks in our test group have fallen in value since the end of the third quarter," Whalen notes. "As we have predicted for some time now, credit concerns have finally surged into the foreground as defaults such as Tricolor and First Brands have underscored concerns about credit and related acts of fraud.'
Press reports suggest that mortgage fraud attempts and losses are increasing, Whalen notes, and multiple specific instances of significant fraud have occurred, impacting banks and nonbank lenders. He notes in a recent article published by The Daily Reckoning, "The Bezzel: Is it 1925 All Over Again?," that tales of woe regarding the Fed-fueled credit boom in commercial real estate and private credit will continue to grow in number in 2026.
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 50. For additional information, please contact us at: info@rcwhalen.com
Contact Information
Chris Whalen
Chairman
chris@rcwhalen.com
914-645-5304
SOURCE: Whalen Global Advisors LLC
Related Documents:
- WGA Top 50.png
View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:
https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/banking-and-financial-services/wga-releases-top-100-us-banks-for-q4-2025-1095958