Safe and Sound

Great American Bank

Lawrence, KS
Star Rating
Started in 2000, Great American Bank is an FDIC-insured bank based in Lawrence, KS. Regulatory filings show the bank having equity of $26.1 million on $194.5 million in assets, as of December 31, 2017.

Thanks to the work of 39 full-time employees in 5 offices in multiple states, the bank holds loans and leases worth $171.6 million, including real estate loans of $154.3 million. U.S. bank customers currently have $150.0 million in deposits with the bank.

Overall, Bankrate believes that, as of December 31, 2017, Great American Bank exhibited a superior condition, earning a full 5 stars for safety and soundness. Here's an analysis of how the bank did on the three major criteria Bankrate used to grade American banks on safety and soundness.


Find out


Capital Score



A bank's Tier 1 capital ratio is an important measure of this buffer. Great American Bank's Tier 1 capital ratio was 11.00 percent, higher than the 6 percent level considered adequate by regulators, but below the national average of 25.65 percent. The higher the capital ratio, the better the bank will be able to weather economic difficulties.

Overall, Great American Bank held equity amounting to 13.43 percent of its assets, which exceeded the national average of 12.03 percent.

Asset Quality Score




The percentage of problem assets a bank holds compared to its total assets is a helpful indicator of asset quality.As of December 31, 2017, none of Great American Bank's loans were noncurrent, meaning they were more than 90 days past due or were in non-accrual status. That's below the national average of 1.01 percent.

Banks maintain a reserve known as an "allowance for loan and lease losses" to deal with troubled assets . Comparing how large that reserve is to the total amount of problematic loans can be a handy indicator when evaluating a bank's ability to manage troubled assets. Unfortunately, the FDIC did not provide information on Great American Bank's loan loss allowance in its most recent filings.

Earnings score



Return on equity, calculated by dividing net income (essentially, profit) by total equity, is one important way to measure a bank's earnings. Great American Bank's most recent annualized quarterly return on equity was 11.07 percent, above the national average of 8.10 percent.

For the twelve months ended December 31, 2017, the bank reported net income of $2.8 million on total equity of $26.1 million. The bank experienced an annualized return on average assets, or ROA, of 1.49 percent, above the 1 percent deemed satisfactory in accordance with industry standards, and above the average for U.S. banks of 1.00 percent.

