Bank of America Corp (BAC), Citigroup Inc. (C): 2 Reasons U.S. Bancorp (USB) Is So Ridiculously Successful

Page 2 of 2

Calculated by dividing a bank’s earnings by its shareholder equity, this gauges how productively a bank is employing its shareholders’ capital; the higher the number, the better.

With this in mind, it should come as no surprise that U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) handily outperforms its competitors in this measure.

Last year, its return on equity came in at a staggering 14.59%, outperforming runner-up Wells Fargo by 170 basis points. Once again, the worst performer in this regard was Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC), with a paltry 1.79% ROE.

If you were to look over the last decade, moreover, U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)’s performance looks even more impressive. Its lead over Wells Fargo extends to 234 basis points, and it has nearly doubled the return of its peer group.

Finding the next U.S. Bancorp
All of this, of course, begs the question: How does one go about finding the next U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) before its excellence is already priced into its stock? 

The article 2 Reasons U.S. Bancorp Is So Ridiculously Successful originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by John Maxfield.

John Maxfield owns shares of Bank of America. The Motley Fool recommends Bank of America. The Motley Fool owns shares of Bank of America and Citigroup. 

Copyright © 1995 – 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Page 2 of 2